Barclays boss indicates bank taxes in budget ‘bearable’ and backs Healey – UK politics live

CEO of Barclays tells reporters: I deeply respect the responsibility that the chancellor has and he has our full support and backing'

The Office for National Statistics has also published a report on the gender pay gap. It says:

The gender pay gap for full-time employees has continued to decline in the UK. It was 6.8% in April 2026, down from 7.2% in April 2025. This compares with 9.4% a decade ago and 16.4% 25 years ago.

Secondly, I asked Healey whether he sees the banks as making excessive profits, which would be the coherent justification for him to increase the surcharge on bank profits - as he is expected to do in the Budget next week.

He said: You know the banks are the engine of investment in this country. The banks are doing well at the moment and that is good to see.