My friend Al Rush is a bell-wether for how people feel – this is how he feels right now

Once again, another week in politics went by and nothing got done of note apart from a few MPs having handbags at dawn. The fifth or sixth biggest economy in the world, and this is what we got. https://t.co/O5DEfcRund

— Rush (@exRAF_Al) January 23, 2023

What we have got from Westminster over the past 12 months has been disappointing. We are not moving forward as we had hoped to be and (for pensions people), the majority of the initiatives we had hoped to bear fruit by now, are yet to poke their heads up – we have no snowdrops in the garden nor no croci.

Much has to do with the changes in Government we say in the middle of 2022 and it seems hard to kick start anything new when we are beset with the ongoing revelations about ministerial sleaze that drag us back into last year’s abyss.

So I really hope that the DWP will come out with at least one of its big two initiatives and launch its views on either VFM or Retirement Income options or both.

Because the ennui felt by Al is fed by a vacuum of feedback from parliament on the many initiatives the industry has undertaken since the easing of the pandemic.

This is not to say that there is not much to do in our day-jobs, we have a living to make, we have people to pay and shareholders to satisfy.

But at this low-point in the diurnal round where nights are long and days cold, we could do with something by way of policy initiatives from those who have hold the ropes of power.

What we miss!

The nation seems to be crying out for something that smells like progress – . However cheesy this Chinese Poster is – it does at least carry everyone with it in a common sense of purpose.

That is what is needed right now. We need a common purpose we can get behind. This cannot be generated by individuals or even organisations , it needs to come through the democratic process of Government.

We need a clear steer from those we have elected to lead.  What Al is pointing to is the absence of direction, the failure of nerve and it’s particularly disappointing as this Government was given in 2019 a clear mandate to get things done.

So I’m approaching this fourth week of 2023 with both frustration and hope, that we can at last see some leadership from Government in pensions and that I can use these pages – not to moan – but to celebrate progress, a common purpose we can get behind.