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As the struggling Tories meets in its conference city for its yearly gathering, it has much to ponder regarding its path forward. Doubt remains if a clear direction is available. We are in challenging circumstances for a governing group that now has little, if anything, new or unique to say to the electorate.

The Missed Opportunity

The situation might have been vastly better if concrete steps had been made on an agenda that matters to people across the country: Levelling up. But Boris Johnson’s government lacked the first clue on how to convert the popular slogan on levelling up into concrete action. During the initial period after the general election, it debated what the phrase truly represented.

I was perplexed, because I had previously explained to the Prime Minister what levelling up entailed when we first spoke about it during the contest for party leader. This terminology was language I created and used at the Department for Education to talk about life chances. It was our departmental mantra, and its definition is straightforward: levelling up is the means by which we achieve equal access – not by taking prospects away from those who are already advantaged, but rather by providing chances to those that don’t.

The Core Concept

Another crucial DfE phrase we used, “potential is equally shared throughout the nation, however access isn’t”, again was a intentional wording, representing the dual components of a social mobility strategy. Initially, ability distributed uniformly but not developed consistently through our education system. Furthermore, opportunities not spread evenly by the private sector or our economy. Therefore, learning and employment were key to achieving better life chances. This represented an priority about the societal structure of our country – supporting human talent and connecting them to opportunities.

The Reality of Implementation

How did levelling up turn into under the previous government? Regional development money overseen from the DLUHC. Decorative floral displays and reconfigured roundabouts and roads. An official policy document was released a significant period after the leadership change, which saw current strategies relabelled under the fresh social mobility slogan.

Consequently, a wider fairness strategy went ignored, as well as all the reform that it might have driven – in investment, commerce, economic policy, revenue and in local regeneration. And, of course, in schooling, including a higher education sector that has become a target for politicians of all stripes – even though it remains the strongest driver of upward movement for young working-class people, including myself, this country has had over the past 30 years. Maybe the primary source of fair chances, operating at scale.

The Importance of Aspiration

Hope is essential for our country to succeed. For hope to exist, there needs to be a believable feeling that hard work and results are connected; that if people aspire, they can achieve. For political leadership, being able to instil a feeling of hope about the tomorrow is crucial. Analysis by the research body at Bath University and others, newly available, showed that the DfE’s 12 “opportunity areas” I established during my tenure – community-focused methods to improving education outcomes – led to young people in those neighborhoods being up to a significant margin more optimistic about their future than those in similar areas without these initiatives in place. The research confirms: just making an sincere effort on fair opportunity strategies can quickly and positively change how people perceive their prospects.

Missed Opportunities

Unaware of these findings, and in the throes of its new leader election, in September 2022, the ruling party closed opportunity areas down. Why should any person in those communities vote for a organization that made that decision? The targeted programme is a single instance of what might have become a game-changing Conservative government agenda on levelling up, but that opportunity was hopelessly squandered. Approaches such as this can inspire hope and aspiration. Conversely, as the ruling party found out, reneging on commitments of equal opportunity is the costliest mistake any government can make. The electorate held accountable the administration for its failure but, perhaps most of all, for its broken promises on equal opportunity.

The Current Landscape

At present the baton on equal opportunity and fair access has passed to a opposition party. The levelling up rhetoric has been cast off. The current administration has its own policy language of “removing obstacles to success”. The political group that is gradually replacing the failing Tories, the challenger, also has its own language – “industrial revival”. The terminology to talk about additional chances in communities like the one I come from, in the region. It claims that an historical manufacturing base can revive into an revitalized economy.

For the public, it must appear as a Groundhog Day-style loop. Identical problem, alternative phrasing. However, so far, no progress.

The Way Forward

Whether the government and opposition want to avoid the identical outcome, both these parties should take lessons from the Tories’ mistakes on social mobility; that fair chance language is easy to say, but effective implementation of improved opportunities is far more challenging. Britain’s persistently low social mobility remains the primary challenge for our country, with young people unable to get a decent career start, those laboring in full-time jobs with few results after the rent has been paid, and citizens throughout the UK without any genuine belief their children will be able to do any better in life than they have.

Leaders can discuss improved access repeatedly. Yet where is the organization that has the comprehensive policy agenda on social mobility? None appear to exist. Whichever party succeeds initially, succeeds. Not just for their party, but, significantly, for a entire nation that has urgently needs fair chances so desperately.