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As the struggling Tories gathers in its conference city for its annual party conference, it has much to ponder regarding its next steps. Doubt remains if a viable path exists at all. These are tough times for a governing group that now has very little, if anything, fresh or distinctive to say to the public.

What Could Have Been

The situation might have been so different if tangible progress had been made on an agenda that is important for people nationwide: Equal opportunity. However Boris Johnson’s government did not possess the first clue on how to turn his zeitgeisty rhetoric on social mobility into concrete action. During the initial period after the 2019 election, it debated what the term actually signified.

I was perplexed, because I’d already told Johnson what levelling up signified when we originally talked about it during his leadership campaign. The expression was a term I developed and used at the education ministry to talk about life chances. It was our core mission, and its definition is straightforward: social mobility is the method by which we achieve fair chances – without removing prospects away from those who possess it, but rather by providing chances to those that are without.

Fundamental Idea

An additional vital ministry expression we used, “ability is distributed uniformly throughout the nation, yet chances are not”, served as a intentional wording, representing the two halves of a equal opportunity plan. Initially, talent spread evenly but not developed consistently through our learning institutions. Furthermore, opportunities not spread evenly by employers or our economic system. Thus, learning and employment were key to achieving improved equality of opportunity. This constituted an agenda about the social fabric of our country – investing in individual capabilities and connecting them to chances.

The Reality of Implementation

How did levelling up evolve into under Johnson’s Conservatives? A towns fund administered out of the DLUHC. Decorative floral displays and rearranged intersections. An official policy document was released nearly three years after Johnson became leader, which saw existing policy approaches repackaged under the new levelling up banner.

As a result, a broader social mobility agenda went undeveloped, as well as all the change that it might have driven – in capital, commerce, fiscal strategy, taxation and in community development. Additionally, in education, including a higher education sector that has become a scapegoat for elected officials – although it remains the most powerful engine of life improvement for individuals from less privileged homes, including myself, this country has had in recent decades. Perhaps the sole mechanism of equal opportunity, functioning widely.

The Importance of Aspiration

Aspiration is crucial for our country to prosper. For people to have aspiration, there needs to be a credible sense that effort and reward are related; that if people dream big, they can succeed. For political leadership, being able to instil a outlook of positivity about the future is critical. Analysis by the research body at the university and others, recently released, showed that the DfE’s 12 “opportunity areas” I launched while in office – community-focused methods to enhancing learning results – led to students in those neighborhoods being up to nearly one-fifth more hopeful about their prospects than those in equivalent locations without these initiatives in place. The research confirms: just making an sincere effort on equal chance initiatives can rapidly and effectively change how people perceive their future.

Squandered Chances

Oblivious to this, and in the throes of its new leader election, in that period, the Tory administration terminated the programmes. What reason would someone in those regions vote for a political group that took that action? This specific initiative is one example of what had the potential to be a revolutionary Conservative government agenda on social mobility, but that opportunity was hopelessly squandered. Strategies such as this can inspire hope and aspiration. On the other hand, as the ruling party found out, breaking the promise of social mobility is the most expensive error any political party can make. The public penalized the government for its failure but, primarily, for its broken promises on equal opportunity.

Present Circumstances

Currently the mandate on social mobility and fair access has passed to a opposition party. The levelling up rhetoric has been abandoned. The current administration has its own policy language of “eliminating hurdles to advancement”. The political group that is steadily supplanting the failing Tories, the challenger, also has its own language – “economic renewal”. This expression to talk about fresh prospects in communities like the one I was raised in, in my hometown. It claims that an former economic strength can revive into an industrial future.

For the public, it must seem like a déjà vu experience. Similar challenge, alternative phrasing. However, so far, no progress.

The Way Forward

Should the current and alternative parties want to escape the same fate, both these parties should understand the Conservatives’ failure on social mobility; that equal opportunity talk is easy to say, but successful delivery of more equal results is significantly more difficult. Britain’s persistently low life chances remains the primary challenge for our country, with the next generation unable to get a proper professional launch, those putting in effort in full-time jobs with minimal progress after the living expenses are met, and people across the country without any genuine belief their next generation will be able to do any better in life than they have.

Politicians can discuss improved access as much as they want. Yet where is the political group that has the thorough strategy on equal opportunity? None appear to exist. The first to achieve this, wins. Not just for themselves, but, crucially, for a whole country that has desperately requires equality of opportunity so desperately.