To: John Healey, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Tax the banks — cut our bills!
Our energy bills are out of control. Meanwhile, the banks are making huge windfall profits and paying bumper bonuses.
Introduce a windfall tax on bank profits to fund cuts to energy bills for everyone on low and middle incomes.
Why is this important?
Getting banks to pay more tax on their profits to help us with the cost of living is common sense. They’re raking in billions while the rest of the us are struggling.
We've seen this pattern before. The high interest rates introduced after Putin's illegal invasion in Ukraine combined with a reduced bank surcharge tax — brought down to just 3% by the Conservatives — led to a bumper pay day for the banks.
The economic chaos sparked by Trump's illegal war in Iran is already seeing this pattern continue at our expense.
Increasing the bank surcharge could raise billions to help fund a social tariff scheme to reduce energy bills.
The TUC's proposed social tariff would typically cuts bills by between £280 and £460 a year for half of households (those on low and lower-middle incomes), with those in greatest need getting the most off.
But when energy costs spike, as is happening now, support would ratchet up so that two-thirds of households would get an emergency boost to match their needs. At current (Summer 2026) rates, this would see:
- The lowest-income households typically saving £550 a year
- Middle-income households typically saving £370 a year
- And upper-middle earners saving £180 a year
If put in place now, the scheme – including the emergency tariff – would cost less than £6bn per year. Setting the bank surcharge at 35% — the level of the Conservatives’ windfall tax on energy companies — could raise up to £60bn over four years. Even a 16% surcharge would be enough to cover the scheme.
History shows that when working people act together, we can win a fairer economy that works for everyone. We can do that again today. It's time the banks paid their fair share in tax. It's time for a social tariff to cut energy bills.
History shows that when working people act together, we can win a fairer economy that works for everyone. We can do that again today. It's time the banks paid their fair share in tax. It's time for a social tariff to cut energy bills.