Sir Keir Starmer is coming under pressure from his own backbenchers to introduce a wealth tax to fill a black hole in public finances with the possibility of more tax hikes on the cards.
New polling suggests 91 per cent of Labour party members think the Government should tax the rich more, with former senior advisors calling for the move "to head off Reform."
The survey by Survation for Compass shared with The Independent, found 84 per cent of Labour members want the government should end the two-child benefit cap, a policy which is increasingly unpopular among Labour MPs.
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Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who lost the Labour whip last year, said that the survey "confirms how starkly out of touch Keir Starmer is."
The MP for Hayes and Harlington said: "It’s time for Keir not just to start listening to people beyond the Westminster bubble but also taking some decisive action.
"All people are saying to him is to behave like a Labour Prime Minister should."
Former policy coordinator for Ed Miliband Jon Cruddas told The Independent: "The danger now is that the leadership are way out of step with the membership and potentially the country in terms of the policies needed to head off Reform."
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The polling, which surveyed 1,024 party members between August 5 and 6, indicated party membership thinks Labour has been too heavy-handed on party discipline, with around 74 per cent believing that challenging the government on controversial legislation should not result in the suspension.
Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, said the party needed to "urgently change course" or they will be opening the door for a Reform UK government.
Burgon, who had the whip withdrawn last year, told The Independent: "Unless the Labour leadership completely changes its approach, it will continue to lose support and will open the doors for a Reform government.
"Instead of ignoring Labour members and punishing MPs who stand up for their constituents, the Labour leadership should start listening and urgently change course."
Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, said the party needed to 'urgently change course' or they will be opening the door for a Reform UK government
| PACompass director Neal Lawson said the polling showed that Sir Keir Starmer’s “fence-sitting and aping of Reform’s rhetoric isn’t wanted" among party members.
He told The Independent: "The government were elected on a promise of ‘a decade of national renewal’ and so far they’ve tried to cut welfare for disabled people and suspended the whip from MPs who disagreed.
"Party members think what the general public think, that Labour offered change and now simply has to deliver on it.
"Without a big reset, then the keys to Number 10 are being handed to Reform and Nigel Farage."
A Labour spokesperson said they do not comment on polling, but added: “Labour’s urgent task when we took office was to fix the foundations after 14 years of Tory chaos. Our next priority is to create a fairer Britain for working people.
“Through our plan for change we have already boosted the minimum wage for three million of the lowest paid, we're rolling out free school meals, and we’re delivering free breakfast clubs for primary school children.
"The stability we’ve brought to the economy has also seen five interest rate cuts, which means homebuyers now pay £1,000 less on their mortgage than they were a year ago.
"There’s much more to do, but that's the change this Labour government has started to deliver after 14 years of Tory decline."