Gordon Brown's troubles mounted today as the "shop steward" of Labour MPs joined protests at the tax raid on the low-paid.
Tony Lloyd, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, urged Mr Brown not to brush aside the rebellion against the effective doubling of the 10p tax band to 20p.
He dismissed arguments that there were no significant losers and said protests were "real and deeply felt". Mr Lloyd added: "I deeply feel them myself because I represent people who will lose in this."
The former minister also questioned Mr Brown's political strategy, saying the government needed to "clarify what it's there for".
"Gordon has got to reflect on the fact that we have not got across to the public what this Labour government is for," he said
A Labour-dominated Commons committee accused him of making "unreasonable" demands on hard-pressed households.
Sweeping changes to the tax code will leave more than five million people worse off just as they face soaring household bills.
The abolition of the 10p starting rate of tax, announced in Mr Brown's final Budget last year, means people on low incomes will see their tax bill double.
The influential Treasury Select Committee found that working couples with children on less than £8,000 a year could lose up to £446, while a single earner childless couple on less than £8,000 could lose £232.
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