I advocated for equal opportunity as the critical to Conservative success – but Boris Johnson neglected the agenda. Now look at us.

While the struggling Tories meets in Manchester for its yearly gathering, it has plenty to consider regarding its next steps. Doubt remains if a road forward remains open. We are in difficult days for a political party that now has very little, if anything, new or unique to say to the public.

The Missed Opportunity

Things could have turned out so different if concrete steps had been made on an policy focus that is important for people throughout the UK: Social mobility. However the previous administration lacked the basic understanding on how to transform the trendy talk on levelling up into concrete action. Over twenty-four months after the general election, it argued over what the concept actually signified.

I found it bizarre, because I had clearly defined for the Prime Minister what levelling up meant when we initially discussed about it during the contest for party leader. This terminology was a term I developed and used at the DfE to talk about equal opportunity. This became our core mission, and its purpose is straightforward: levelling up is the approach by which we achieve equal access – without removing prospects away from those who already have it, but rather by extending options to those that lack them.

Essential Principle

The other key ministry expression we used, “ability is distributed uniformly around the UK, yet chances are not”, represented another a purposeful phrase, reflecting the two halves of a fairness agenda. First, talent spread evenly but not cultivated evenly through our education system. Furthermore, access not provided uniformly by employers or our economy. As a result, schools and companies were crucial to achieving stronger social mobility. This constituted an priority about the societal structure of our country – fostering human talent and linking them with chances.

What Levelling Up Became

How did the social mobility agenda turn into under the Tory administration? A towns fund managed by the DLUHC. Decorative floral displays and rearranged intersections. A government strategy was released almost thirty-six months after the Prime Minister took office, which saw existing policy approaches repackaged under the new levelling up banner.

Therefore, a broader social mobility agenda went undeveloped, as well as all the reform that it may have generated – in investment, enterprise, financial planning, tax and in community development. And, of course, in schooling, including a tertiary education that has become a punchbag for politicians of all stripes – despite the fact that it remains the primary vehicle of social mobility for youth from modest backgrounds, like me, this country has had over the past 30 years. Maybe the only engine of fair chances, operating at scale.

Why Hope Matters

Aspiration is essential for our country to thrive. For hope to exist, there needs to be a realistic expectation that dedication and outcome are linked; that if people dream big, they can attain. For any government, being able to instil a outlook of positivity about the years ahead is important. Research by the Institute for Policy Research at the academic establishment and others, recently released, showed that the DfE’s 12 “opportunity areas” I launched while in office – locally targeted strategies to enhancing learning results – led to young people in those communities being up to 18 percentage points more optimistic about their future than those in comparable communities without these programmes in place. The evidence is clear: just making an sincere effort on fair opportunity strategies can rapidly and effectively change how people perceive their future.

Squandered Chances

Unaware of these findings, and in the throes of its post-Johnson leadership contest, in autumn 2022, the Tory administration terminated the programmes. Why should any person in those regions vote for a organization that made that decision? The targeted programme is one example of what had the potential to be a revolutionary Conservative government agenda on social mobility, but that chance was hopelessly squandered. Approaches such as this can generate optimism and ambition. In contrast, as the ruling party learned, reneging on commitments of equal opportunity is the biggest blunder any leadership can make. The public held accountable the administration for its failure but, primarily, for its failed pledges on social mobility.

The Current Landscape

At present the responsibility on equal opportunity and fair access has been transferred to a opposition party. The old slogan has been cast off. The current administration has its own public messaging of “breaking down the barriers to opportunity”. The party that is gradually replacing the struggling incumbents, Reform UK, also has its own message – “reindustrialisation”. It’s a phrase to talk about new opportunities in regions like the one I come from, in the region. It claims that an historical manufacturing base can reincarnate into an modern manufacturing sector.

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

The Way Forward

If Labour and Reform UK want to escape the identical outcome, each group should understand the Tories’ mistakes on social mobility; that social mobility rhetoric is one thing, but successful delivery of improved opportunities is much harder. Britain’s chronically poor social mobility remains the key issue for our country, with the next generation unable to get a decent career start, those laboring in occupations with minimal progress after the rent has been paid, and people across the country without any actual expectation their offspring will be able to do any better in life than they have.

Politicians can discuss fairer opportunities repeatedly. Yet where is the political group that has the complete plan on equal opportunity? None appear to exist. Whoever gets there first, wins. Not only for themselves, but, more importantly, for a entire nation that has desperately requires fair chances so badly.