I championed levelling up as the critical to Tory success – but Boris Johnson didn’t do it. Now look at us.

As the struggling Tories meets in its conference city for its annual party conference, it has plenty to consider regarding its path forward. It’s not even clear if a viable path remains open. These are tough times for a political party that now has little, if anything, new or unique to say to voters.

What Could Have Been

Things could have turned out so different if tangible progress had been made on an agenda that resonates with people nationwide: Levelling up. However the previous administration hadn’t got the slightest idea on how to convert the popular slogan on social mobility into concrete action. For the two years after the general election, it argued over what the concept even meant.

I was perplexed, because I had clearly defined for the Prime Minister what levelling up entailed when we first spoke about it during his leadership campaign. This terminology was a concept I originated and used at the Department for Education to talk about social mobility. It served as our core mission, and its purpose is clear: levelling up is the means by which we achieve fair chances – not by taking prospects away from those who possess it, but rather by providing chances to those that don’t.

The Core Concept

An additional vital ministry expression we used, “talent is spread evenly across our country, yet chances are not”, represented another a intentional wording, representing the two halves of a social mobility strategy. First, talent spread evenly but not cultivated evenly through our learning institutions. Additionally, access not provided uniformly by businesses or our market. Thus, schools and companies were crucial to achieving improved equality of opportunity. This represented an agenda about the social fabric of our country – fostering individual capabilities and providing access to prospects.

The Actual Outcome

How did levelling up evolve into under Johnson’s Conservatives? Local investment schemes overseen from the the relevant ministry. Hanging baskets and reconfigured roundabouts and roads. A white paper was published nearly three years after Johnson became leader, which saw ongoing initiatives rebadged under the recently branded agenda.

Consequently, a broader social mobility agenda went unpursued, as well as all the improvement that it might have driven – in investment, commerce, economic policy, revenue and in place-making. Additionally, in learning, including a tertiary education that has become a target for leaders across parties – despite the fact that it remains the primary vehicle of life improvement for youth from modest backgrounds, like me, this country has had in recent decades. Possibly the sole mechanism of fair chances, working extensively.

The Role of Ambition

Aspiration is crucial for our country to thrive. To foster ambition, there needs to be a realistic expectation that effort and reward are connected; that if people aim high, they can succeed. For any government, being able to create a outlook of positivity about the future is important. Studies by the research body at the academic establishment and others, published last month, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I launched while in office – community-focused methods to boosting academic achievement – led to students in those neighborhoods being up to a significant margin more optimistic about their life ahead than those in similar areas without these initiatives in place. The evidence is clear: just making an sincere effort on equal chance initiatives can rapidly and effectively change how people view their future.

Missed Opportunities

Unaware of these findings, and in the throes of its new leader election, in September 2022, the Tory administration terminated the programmes. What reason would someone in those communities vote for a political group that made that decision? This specific initiative is a single instance of what could have been a transformative Tory policy platform on levelling up, but that possibility was totally misused. Methods such as this can create belief and drive. Conversely, as the Conservatives discovered, failing to deliver of fair chances is the biggest blunder any political party can make. The public held accountable the leadership for its failure but, primarily, for its broken promises on social mobility.

Present Circumstances

Now the baton on life chances and equal chances has been taken up by a Labour government. The previous terminology has been cast off. The current administration has its own political rhetoric of “eliminating hurdles to advancement”. The party that is increasingly displacing the hapless Conservative party, Reform UK, also has its own terminology – “industrial revival”. The terminology to talk about fresh prospects in regions like the one I grew up in, in the region. It suggests that an industrial past can revive into an revitalized economy.

To the electorate, it must appear as a déjà vu experience. Same issue, alternative phrasing. Yet, currently, little improvement.

What Must Change

If Labour and Reform UK want to avoid the similar destiny, both these parties should learn from the previous government’s errors on social mobility; that social mobility rhetoric is one thing, but effective implementation of fairer outcomes is far more challenging. The UK’s persistently low equal opportunity remains the central problem for our country, with youth unable to get a good job beginning, those working hard in occupations with few results after the housing costs are covered, and individuals nationwide without any genuine belief their children will be able to do advance in life than they have.

Politicians can mention equal chances however much they like. Yet where is the party that has the comprehensive policy agenda on life chances? I observe no such party. Whichever party succeeds initially, prevails. Not just for their party, but, significantly, for a entire nation that has never needed equality of opportunity so badly.