Labour MPs are “seething with anger” about Keir Starmer’s refusal to pledge to scrap the two-child benefit cap, according to Jeremy Corbyn.

As Starmer continued to resist pressure from some of his party’s own MPs and others, his predecessor as Labour leader, who now sits as an independent, waded into the row on Tuesday by saying he had spoken to “quite a lot of Labour MPs” about the controversy.

“They are seething with anger, particularly as commitments have been made regularly by the party that we would take children out of poverty. Even the Blair government, which Keir Starmer often quotes, did do a great deal to lift children out of poverty by not having a two-child policy,” Corbyn told LBC radio. Child with deflated ball. Labour MPs urge Starmer to rethink two-child benefit cap decision Read more

Labour may not be able to afford to reverse “lots of bad policies”, a member of the shadow frontbench said as she defended the leadership’s position amid growing discontent. The Conservatives were “waiting” for Labour to commit to uncosted spending commitments, said the shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell, as Starmer faced potential opposition at a meeting of his shadow cabinet on Tuesday morning.