Tony Blair has committed the Government to redistributing wealth in a move which will point the way to further tax rises.

The Prime Minister will promise a war against child poverty in a speech marking his return to the domestic agenda after weeks of focusing on Iraq.

The language will be welcomed by Labour MPs and activists who are promising Mr Blair a tough ride at Labour's Blackpool conference later this month. But it is certain to prompt warnings from the Tories that middle-earners are in the firing line for tax increases.

Since Mr Blair became Labour leader in 1994 the party has avoided the word "redistribution", with its smack of Old Labour, and talked instead of increasing opportunity-Revenue-raising has been largely limited to rises in stealth taxes. But in his April Budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown unveiled the Government's first direct tax increases to pay for improvements to public services.

In this weeks speech - in the poverty blackspot of Hackney, east London - Mr Blair went further. He pledged Labour to "continue to redistribute power, wealth and opportunity to combat poverty and social exclusion and to deliver public services that people can trust".

He said that reducing child poverty is a "key test" of Labour's second term in office, and will claim that Britain's strong economy makes it a "realistic" goal.

At the same time, the Government will publish its fourth annual poverty report, claiming successes in the fight against poverty.

The report will show that 1.4 million children have been taken out of absolute poverty since 1997, and half a million have been taken out of relative poverty - -defined as those in families living on less than 60 per cent of average income.

The clear warning of tax rises to come marks a sharp change of focus from Mr Blair. Before last year's election, he dismissed talk of shifting wealth from rich to poor, and said cutting David Beckham's giant salary would help nobody.