The abolition of the 10 pence tax rate has been the most obvious policy which has disillusioned my constituents in Halifax. This decision was, I admit, not the Government's finest hour. I recognised the potential of this last year, when I raised the issue with the Treasury and signed Early Day Motions calling for the restoration of the tax band and acknowledging the potential effects that this change could have on various fractions of our voters.

I did not enter politics to make the poor poorer. The Government could and should have realised just how many people would lose out as a result of this unnecessary tax change.

However, I am pleased to see that the Government has recognised this and is taking the initiative to implement a compensation package for those worst effected. A rebate six months later is a welcome first step. I will continue pushing to ensure that those affected by this change are adequately compensated now, not when it is most convenient.

It is also important not to let the 10p tax fiasco overshadow the progress which has been made in the last 11 years under Labour. The minimum wage has lifted thousands out of poverty; tax credits, which 90 per cent of families now qualify for, have improved the lives of 10 million children; the recent overall income tax cut from 22 to 20 per cent has made everyone in work better off.

With the Winter Fuel Allowance, over 60s are now receiving £250 and the over 80s are receiving £400 to help them towards paying fuel bills to keep warm. These are good solid Labour policies. Yet I still find the mood on the doorstep one of dismay at the Government's direction of travel on key issues. So, what is to be done?

What the Government needs to do is identify and recognise where its core support lies and ensure that its policies make people feel like the Government is on "their side".

Over the last few months teachers, public sector workers, policemen, pensioners, prison officers, and young single earners have all felt that the Government has not been listening to their concerns.

Many of these people are natural Labour supporters. The Government needs to realise that if its core coalition of support is disillusioned, then there is no chance of winning the next General Election. It is the core Labour vote, as well as the middle England vote, that the 10p tax change affected.

On Thursday, I attended the National Union of Teachers Strike rally at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge and listened to teachers' concerns. The essential message was that they felt they weren't been listened to by the Government. Teachers are not asking for the world, they just don't want to become poorer at the very time they are working harder. This is a view reflected across the public sector. The Government shouldn't just listen to what people are saying. It should be seen to be listening and addressing people's concerns.

As a local MP, I stand to represent local issues – that means what matters to you, the voter, the most. The Government can be wrong at times and I have recognised that. However, 11 years of a Labour Government has invested billions resulting in improvements to your country that we could have never dreamed of under the Tories.

The job from here is to build upon past success. The irony is that the very people who are currently most disappointed in the Labour Government are the ones who would suffer the most hardship should the Conservatives come back to power.

Gordon Brown has it in him to turn this situation around. Now is the time to look to the future with confidence and unite around core Labour values.

Linda Riordan is the Labour MP for Halifax.