THE biggest factor in the public disengagement from politics is the mass mistrust that parties will stick to their promises.

Look what the u-turn on tuition fees did for the career of Nick Clegg. It ruined it, even though it came in the context of a coalition government.

And we are seeing that lack of honesty again over the thorny issue of tax credit cuts.

Just before polling day in May, David Cameron, on national television, “put to bed” rumours of a cut in the credit for families.

A few weeks after the election had been bagged, George Osborne unveiled far deeper tax credit cuts than had been feared.

It was masked by a claim that what was being lost in government handouts would be balanced by an unexpected increase in the minimum wage. As always, the devil was in the detail, with analysis by independent experts, including the Institute of Fiscal Studies, showing that the minimum wage hike was not enough, and would come too late, to counter the harsh losses inflicted on the low-paid.

There are even those in the Tory ranks who are twitchy at the idea of hitting hard-working people, as opposed to “benefit scroungers”.

And yet, the Government is digging in, with Mr Cameron delivering a Commons lecture to the Lords today that it is not their place to interfere with budgetary matters.

The planned cuts to tax credits are unfair, disingenuous and mathematically flawed, but there is no sign of the Government wavering under the wave of discontent.

We emerged from the election with an emboldened government due to the collapse of the Miliband-led Labour Party.

Now Labour’s electoral position has been weakened still further with Jeremy Corbyn's lurch to the left, there is a very real danger we have been left with a dangerously arrogant Government.