SOARING profits for Lloyds are “further proof” that banks can pay more tax to cut bills, the TUC said today as the company exceeded market expectations.

Lloyds announced Q2 pre-tax profits of £2.3 billion, bringing half-year 2026 profits to £4.3bn — up 23 per cent on the first half of last year.

The TUC urged the government to use the money to fund a social energy tariff that would bring down bills by up to £559 a year for those on low and middle incomes.

Currently, the bank surcharge is an additional 3 per cent corporation tax on profits above £100 million, reduced from 8 per cent in April 2023 by the Conservatives, just as bumper profits kicked in alongside higher interest rates.

The TUC is calling for the surcharge to be increased to raise £60bn over four years.

A 16 per cent surcharge would deliver £24bn, while a 35 per cent surcharge, matching the energy windfall tax, would raise £60bn, the union body calculated.

Even reversing Tory cuts to 8 per cent would raise £9bn, enough to fund the social tariff.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “This is further proof that we need to increase the bank surcharge.

“While bank profits are booming, working people are struggling with mortgage misery and higher bills.”

He said that while new Prime Minister Andy Burnham “hit the ground running” on tackling the cost of living, the government needs to “keep going on support” with “no clear end in sight” to the war in Iran hiking energy prices.

“Taxing banks to cut energy bills would show clearly that the new Prime Minister is on the side of working people,” Mr Nowak said.

“It’s the right thing to do and banks can easily afford it.”