Should Andy Burnham introduce a windfall tax to ease cost of living? Take our poll and have your say

Should Andy Burnham introduce a windfall tax to ease cost of living? Take our poll and have your say After the 'big four' banks made more than £29 billion combined in the space of six months, The Mirror is asking if Andy Burnham should consider a windfall tax to help struggling Brits Andy Burnham has signalled he will tackle the cost of living crisis facing Brits with The Mirror asking whether the Prime Minister should consider a windfall tax to help those who are struggling. The new Prime Minister previously told The Sunday Mirror helping hard-pressed households was his top priority and revealed he wanted to do more to bring down utility bills and fail fares. Burnham has slotted home several quick wins since entering No10 Downing Street two weeks ago, including a month of free bus travel for under-16s and beginning a national conversation into the state of adult social care. But the cost of living remains a top concern among Brits with the economy being the top issue for UK adults, according to YouGov. Burnham used his first days to announce VAT will be slashed from electricity bills from October, bus fares will be capped at £2 and pubs, social clubs and live music venues will get a 20 per cent cut to business rates from April. But The Mirror is asking whether the Prime Minister should consider a windfall tax raid to help Brits make their money go further. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called for a windfall tax on banks to help bring down energy bills for millions of households. HSBC fuelled the plea for the new PM and Chancellor John Healey to target lenders in the Autumn Budget after it announced half year profits surged by almost a quarter to £14.5 billion. It comes after a bumper round of results from rivals Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and NatWest. boosted by higher for longer interest rates. The 'big four' have together made more than £29 billion in the space of just six months. The TUC has now asked the government to use the money to pay for a social tariff that, it claims would bring down energy bills by up to £559 a year for those on low and middle incomes. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “There is now a mountain of evidence to suggest that banks can easily afford to pay more tax. While higher interest rates have meant mortgage misery and bigger bills for the rest of us, the big banks have been rolling in it. “Andy Burnham has rightly prioritised cost of living measures in his first days as prime minister, but as the war in Iran rumbles on energy prices will rise further - and the government will need to do more to protect households. That’s why it’s time to increase the tax on bank profits to cut bills. It’s common sense and it’s the right thing to do.” The four big banks combined are estimated at this stage to make £55.3billion profit for the whole year, up sharply from 2025, and equivalent to around £1,750 every second.