THE Labour leadership faced demands today to tax the rich instead of inflicting more painful spending cuts in its Budget on Wednesday.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned that her fiscal announcement will involve “difficult decisions” because of a £22 billion “black hole” left by the Tories in the nation’s finances, which has since led her to talk of finding £40-50bn in spending cuts and tax rises.

Today Labour MP Richard Burgon presented a 50,000-strong petition in Parliament calling for wealth taxes as an alternative.

Mr Burgon said: “The Tories have left behind a toxic mess of weak public finances, falling living standards and public services on their knees.

“The budget cuts and austerity measures that helped cause this situation cannot be part of the solution.”

The petition calls for a 2 per cent wealth tax on assets over £10 million, which could raise £24bn a year.

It also suggested equalising capital gains tax with income tax rates and ending state subsidies for fossil fuel giants, which could raise another £21bn.

Ms Reeves stated that the upcoming Budget will focus on “strivers,” invoking the rhetoric of austerity architect George Osborne, though a speech by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today stressed Labour would raise taxes to invest in public services.

Labour MP John McDonnell tweeted: “Simple request to whoever is now running Labour’s communications strategy, drop the ‘strivers’ language as it inevitably has led in the past to reference to ‘skivers’ prefacing attacks on welfare benefit claimants and cuts in social security support.”

Over 120 charities under the End Child Poverty Coalition have called on the Chancellor to use the Budget to finally ditch the two-child benefit cap.

The coalition says that doing so would lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

The “sibling penalty” prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children.

Affected families miss out on up to £3,455 per child per year.

The New Economics Foundation estimated that removing the limit would cost £1.74bn, but reducing the cost of child poverty would save £2.05bn. 

End Child Poverty Coalition chairman Joseph Howes said: “We don’t say only two children in a family can go to school, or that the third sibling cannot receive hospital treatment, so why do we limit benefit payments to only two children?

“By scrapping this policy, this government would be recognised as one that turns the tide on rising levels of child poverty across the UK.”

Gingerbread CEO Victoria Benson said: “Scrapping the two-child limit is a quick and cost-effective way to lift children out of poverty and it’s disappointing that our government hasn’t committed to doing this.”

The government has also faced demands to reconsider plans to slash out-of-work benefits for severely disabled benefit claimants by more than 50 per cent in an attempt to cut £3bn from welfare spending over the next four years.

The Telegraph indicated earlier this month that the government will push ahead with changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), estimated to affect 453,000 disabled people by 2028-29.

A letter to Ms Reeves and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall signed by 24 disability organisations and trade unions said the measures would be “devastating” and only add to the unreasonable workloads of Department for Work and Pensions staff.

Some 93 per cent of those affected would see their awards drop by £416 per month, campaigners said.

Paula Peters from Disabled People Against Cuts said: “According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, only 3 per cent of those affected will move into work while the rest are left in deep poverty. 

“We urge the government to rethink these horrendous proposals, to listen to disabled people and co-produce a social security system that provides a genuine safety net for those that need it.”

Ellen Clifford, the claimant in a legal challenge against the adequacy of the government consultation on the WCA changes, said: “The combination of these cuts — entailing a dramatic drop in income inflicted on those who are too disabled to escape poverty through paid work — alongside the attempt to legalise suicide through Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s Bill is terrifying for disabled people. 

“We’ve seen how in Canada, access to assisted dying has become the default answer to poverty and to gaps in support services. 

“Both these measures coming at once feels like an assault on our right to exist.”