Change, why is it so difficult to deliver? Especially given that the majority of voters said they wanted change when they went to the polls on Thursday 4^th July this year. The resulting size of the Conservative defeat, the biggest in recent history, was there for all to see.

So, let me ask, what did we expect that change to look like? You would have thought that the answer to that question was obvious given that 14 years of Conservatives being in charge had seen public services decimated. The NHS was on its knees. Adult Social Care and care in the community struggling to meet demand. Higher and Further Education failing to meet the demand for place numbers and courses, and students struggling with record levels of debt. Housing in crisis; our roads full of potholes and public transport expensive and not fit for purpose. The list was almost endless.

At the same time the rich have got richer and the numbers of those living in poverty at a record high. Change needed to come. But unpicking the effects of the last 14 years wasn’t going to happen overnight, was it. And rebuilding our public services was never going to be easy. Change comes at a price. And therein lies the rub.

Efficiency savings had been done to death. £Millions had been calved from public sector budgets resulting in loss of jobs and reductions in services. In some cases, services have ceased altogether.

In our heart of hearts, we all knew we were in for a bumpy ride. Having said that, at times like these you would expect those with the broadest shoulders to bear the heaviest load. Afterall, they have had their share of plenty two times over under the Conservatives. The top 5% of households in the UK own around 70% of the country’s wealth. Then of course there are the bankers and the large multi-nationals who have seen their profits and dividends reach eyewatering levels.

It was well and truly, time for a re-set, and it stands to reason that any incoming government would be looking to them to absorb increased taxes. They would be looking to close tax loopholes and reverse some if not all of the tax – breaks that those at the top have enjoyed and benefitted from, whilst the rest endured pay restraint and in some cases wage freezes.

Redressing the balance was certainly flagged up in certain election manifestos, including those of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. So, I ask again, why has this new government found it so difficult to introduce measures in order to start the process of rebuilding our public services and put the economy on a sounder, more equal footing?

My view is, they were looking to show that they were indeed the party of change. The Conservatives had had a trouncing in the general election. The government had a massive majority and, in their minds at least, been given a mandate to get on with the job of implementing change. What they failed to realise is that in order to be successful, you need to bring people along with you. You need people on your side. You need them to trust you, and let’s face it, trust in any politicians right now is in short supply.

I have been tracking Labour’s progress since the election back in July. Much of what they have done will work towards redressing the balance between the wealthy and the rest of us. But the way they have gone about hasn’t done much towards bringing us as a nation closer together. Two things stand out where they have really messed up.

No prizes for guessing what I am talking about. They really should have given more thought about the Winter Fuel Allowances changes, and how they implemented the Inheritance Tax changes for farmers.

I can see what they were trying to achieve in both cases. There is no doubt that some pensioners really didn’t need the Winter Fuel Allowances. But the crude way they set about making sure that it went to the needy rather than to the greedy has plunged many pensioners at the margins into real difficulties when it comes to keeping themselves healthy and warm over the winter months.

Restricting the payment to just those on Pension Credit took no account of those with health conditions which rely on energy to maintain a reasonable temperature in the home. Nor did it consider those who use high levels of energy to power machinery in order to keep them mobile and literally, in some cases, keep them alive.

It was the same with the Farmers and the changes to Inheritance Tax. Though here, there are still tax loopholes which will see most, if not all, of those who genuinely fall foul of the new rules, being able to wriggle out of paying IHT. Yes, even those wealthy landowners who went into farming simply to avoid paying IHT in the first place. But the damage has been done. The right-wing press have had a field day. We all need to learn from this and move on.

One of the big problems with Labour is that just like the Conservatives, winning an election seems to mean that they can do what they like. Leaving the electorate feeling as though things are being done to them, whether they like it or not.

Things might have been different if Labour had spent the four months between the election in July and the autumn budget at the end of October laying out the broad principles of what they were going to do in order to deliver on their manifesto promises. Making this the basis of a Social Contract between the Government and the Electorate having seen the true state of the UKs finances.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if politicians are to win back the peoples trust, they need to start by trusting the people enough to share their thoughts and ideas with them.