Now, with the cost of living crisis engulfing households across the country and inflation at a 40-year high, ministers seem reluctant to fulfil this mandate.

From charities to think tanks to all of the opposition politicians, there is now a growing consensus that Government needs to do more for the poorest households, who are being hit the worst under the crisis.

Households are struggling under the weight of prices that are increasing faster than at any point in more than a generation.

And while Government has committed to £150 council tax rebates for many homes and to take £200 off energy bills from October, this will simply prove insufficient for many families.

Labour’s opportunistic call for a windfall tax on energy companies is so far being resisted by the Prime Minister and Chancellor because they know it is a policy fraught with risk and one that raises more questions than it answers. And while it is correct that rising costs are hitting nations around the world, not just the UK, this will not help feed families forced to skip meals in order to get by.

But there are things that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak can do now, rather than wait for the autumn Budget which is too far away to effect meaningful change for the nation.

It could look to measures such as increasing the warm home discount, announce a cut in income tax, reverse the rise in National Insurance contributions and give businesses a VAT discount on their energy bills.

Like all crisis, there is no easy or painless way out of this. But doing nothing, as appears to be the current policy, is not the mark of true leadership, which millions of people voted this Government to show.

The Government cannot sit on the fence and must act to mitigate soaring inflation - The Yorkshire Post says