Activists close to the party are pushing for a four-day working week, a zero carbon target by 2030 and a new £2 billion tax on city market traders. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is set to outline some of Labour’s proposals at an event in London today. Left-wing grassroots movement Momentum are understood to be playing a significant role in the make-up of Labour’s election manifesto.

A Momentum source told The Guardian: “With members putting forward exciting, radical policy like the Green New Deal just before an election, they’re essentially writing the next manifesto.

“It’s a real chance for members to feed into policy, and it could well result in the most most ambitious, radical manifesto ever put forward by Labour.”

In a speech in London, Mr McDonnell will set to outline a Labour commissioned report by cross-bench peer Lord Skidelsky.

The report analysis the economic impact on reducing the working week by one day without the loss of pay for workers.

The Shadow Chancellor said: “Something is very wrong with how the world of work has changed in recent years.

“Millions are working long hours while others can’t get the security of the regular hours they need to get by.

“I’d like to thank Lord Skidelsky for his meticulously researched report which we will study and draw on when looking at how we can reduce the typical working week without loss of pay.”

According to official data, Britons worked an average of 42.5 hours a week in 2018.

The number is above the EU average of 41.2 hours.

However, Labour is unlikely to adopt significant changes following the conclusion of the report.

Lord Skidelsky said any changes to the number of hours worked would need to be done on a sector by sector basis.

The report said: “The reduction in hours is both desirable ethically and desired by most people.

“Even though some people are compelled to work shorter hours than they want to, most people are compelled to work longer hours than they want to.”

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The report cited the French model of a cap of 35 hours a week and said it is “not realistic or even desirable” for it to apply in the UK.

The report added: “Capping working hours nationwide, on the lines of France’s 35-hour working week, is not realistic or even desirable, because any cap needs to be adapted to the needs of different sectors.

“The evidence is that, after a brief impact effect, France’s legislation was rendered broadly ineffective by an accumulation of exceptions and loopholes.”

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