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As the existentially challenged Conservative party convenes in Manchester for its annual party conference, it has plenty to consider regarding its next steps. It’s not even clear if a clear direction is available. These are challenging circumstances for a political party that now has very little, if anything, new or unique to say to voters.

The Missed Opportunity

It could have been vastly better if concrete steps had been made on an policy focus that resonates with people throughout the UK: Levelling up. But the former leadership hadn’t got the basic understanding on how to convert the trendy talk on social mobility into policy reality. Over twenty-four months after the general election, it argued over what the phrase actually signified.

I was perplexed, because I’d already told the Prime Minister what levelling up signified when we first spoke about it during the contest for party leader. The phrase was a term I developed and used at the DfE to talk about life chances. It served as our departmental mantra, and its definition is straightforward: levelling up is the means by which we attain equality of opportunity – not through reducing chances away from those who possess it, but rather by providing options to those that don’t.

Fundamental Idea

Another crucial ministry expression we used, “talent is spread evenly across our country, however access isn’t”, represented another a purposeful phrase, representing the two halves of a equal opportunity plan. First, talent spread evenly but not developed consistently through our schools and colleges. Furthermore, opportunities not spread evenly by employers or our economic system. Therefore, schools and companies were key to achieving stronger social mobility. This was an priority about the societal structure of our country – supporting people’s potential and providing access to prospects.

The Reality of Implementation

What did the social mobility agenda become under Johnson’s Conservatives? Local investment schemes managed by the the relevant ministry. Decorative floral displays and rearranged intersections. A government strategy was launched a significant period after Johnson became leader, which saw current strategies relabelled under the recently branded agenda.

Consequently, a comprehensive equal opportunity plan went undeveloped, as well as all the reform that it may have generated – in capital, enterprise, economic policy, tax and in place-making. Additionally, in education, including a university system that has become a scapegoat for elected officials – even though it remains the strongest driver of life improvement for individuals from less privileged homes, including myself, this country has had in recent decades. Maybe the only engine of social mobility, functioning widely.

The Role of Ambition

Ambition is vital for our country to thrive. For hope to exist, there needs to be a realistic expectation that dedication and outcome are related; that if people aspire, they can achieve. For all administrations, being able to foster a feeling of hope about the future is crucial. Studies by the research body at Bath University and others, published last month, showed that the education department’s targeted regions I established during my tenure – locally targeted strategies to enhancing learning results – led to young people in those communities being up to a significant margin more hopeful about their future than those in similar areas without these schemes in place. The research confirms: just making an sincere effort on fair opportunity strategies can quickly and positively change how people view their future.

Missed Opportunities

Unaware of these findings, and in the throes of its post-Johnson leadership contest, in autumn 2022, the ruling party terminated the programmes. Why should any person in those communities vote for a political group that made that decision? The opportunity areas policy is a single instance of what could have been a transformative Tory policy platform on levelling up, but that chance was totally misused. Strategies such as this can create belief and drive. On the other hand, as the Conservatives found out, breaking the promise of social mobility is the costliest mistake any government can make. The electorate punished the administration for its failure but, primarily, for its broken promises on levelling up.

Present Circumstances

At present the responsibility on equal opportunity and equality of opportunity has passed to a Labour government. The old slogan has been discarded. The new government has its own public messaging of “breaking down the barriers to opportunity”. The party that is steadily supplanting the failing Conservative party, the alternative party, also has its own terminology – “industrial revival”. The terminology to talk about fresh prospects in areas like the one I was raised in, in my hometown. It suggests that an former economic strength can be reborn into an revitalized economy.

To the electorate, it must feel like a déjà vu experience. Same issue, new terminology. Yet, currently, little improvement.

Lessons for the Future

Whether the government and opposition want to escape the same fate, both these parties should understand the Tories’ mistakes on levelling up; that fair chance language is simple terminology, but actual achievement of improved opportunities is much harder. Britain’s chronically poor social mobility remains the primary challenge for our country, with youth unable to get a good job beginning, those laboring in employment with minimal progress after the housing costs are covered, and individuals nationwide without any genuine belief their next generation will be able to do improve in life than they have.

Politicians can talk about equal chances repeatedly. Yet where is the organization that has the thorough strategy on life chances? None appear to exist. Whichever party succeeds initially, succeeds. Not only for themselves, but, more importantly, for a whole country that has never needed equal access so badly.