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While the existentially challenged Tories meets in Manchester for its yearly gathering, it has much to ponder regarding its next steps. It’s not even clear if a clear direction is available. These are challenging circumstances for a governing group that now has almost nothing, if anything, new or unique to say to the electorate.

What Could Have Been

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. Yet the previous administration did not possess the slightest idea on how to convert his zeitgeisty rhetoric on social mobility into policy reality. During the initial period after the 2019 election, it discussed what the concept actually signified.

I found it bizarre, because I had previously explained to the Prime Minister what levelling up signified when we initially discussed about it during the contest for party leader. The phrase was a term I developed and used at the Department for Education to talk about life chances. This became our core mission, and its definition is unambiguous: levelling up is the method by which we attain fair chances – without removing chances away from those who already have it, but rather by extending options to those that don’t.

The Core Concept

Another crucial education department term we used, “ability is distributed uniformly throughout the nation, but opportunity is not”, represented another a intentional wording, representing the two halves of a equal opportunity plan. Initially, talent spread evenly but not cultivated evenly through our learning institutions. Additionally, 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 mission about the social fabric of our country – fostering individual capabilities and linking them with opportunities.

What Levelling Up Became

How did the social mobility agenda turn into under the previous government? A towns fund managed by the the relevant ministry. Hanging baskets and redeveloped traffic systems. A government strategy was released nearly three years after the leadership change, which saw ongoing initiatives rebadged under the recently branded agenda.

Consequently, a wider fairness strategy went undeveloped, as well as all the improvement that it could have inspired – in capital, business, fiscal strategy, revenue and in place-making. Additionally, in education, including a tertiary education that has become a punchbag for elected officials – despite the fact that it remains the primary vehicle of upward movement for youth from modest backgrounds, including myself, this country has had in recent decades. Perhaps the primary source of fair chances, working extensively.

Why Hope Matters

Hope is crucial for our country to thrive. To foster ambition, there needs to be a credible sense that dedication and outcome are connected; that if people aspire, they can succeed. For any government, being able to foster a sense of optimism about the years ahead is crucial. Studies by the academic institution at the academic establishment and others, published last month, showed that the DfE’s 12 “opportunity areas” I established during my tenure – locally targeted strategies to enhancing learning results – led to youth in those communities being up to nearly one-fifth more hopeful about their prospects than those in equivalent locations without these programmes in place. The evidence is clear: just making an authentic start on pro-social mobility policy can swiftly and beneficially change how people view their future.

Squandered Chances

Ignoring this evidence, and in the midst of its new leader election, in that period, the Tory administration terminated the programmes. Why should any person in those communities vote for a organization that took that action? The opportunity areas policy is one example of what could have been a game-changing Tory policy platform on levelling up, but that opportunity was hopelessly squandered. Approaches such as this can generate optimism and ambition. On the other hand, as the ruling party discovered, reneging on commitments of social mobility is the most expensive error any government can make. The public held accountable the leadership for its ineffectiveness but, primarily, for its unfulfilled commitments on social mobility.

Present Circumstances

At present the responsibility on life chances and equality of opportunity has been transferred to a new administration. The previous terminology has been cast off. The new government has its own policy language of “breaking down the barriers to opportunity”. The political group that is increasingly displacing the failing incumbents, the challenger, also has its own message – “economic renewal”. It’s a phrase to talk about new opportunities in regions like the one I was raised in, in my hometown. It claims that an historical manufacturing base can revive into an revitalized economy.

For voters, it must feel like a repetitive cycle. Similar challenge, different language. Yet, currently, little improvement.

Lessons for the Future

Whether the government and opposition want to escape the same fate, both these parties should learn from the Conservatives’ failure on levelling up; that social mobility rhetoric is one thing, but actual achievement of improved opportunities is significantly more difficult. Britain’s chronically poor life chances remains the primary challenge for our country, with youth unable to get a proper professional launch, those working hard in employment with minimal progress after the living expenses are met, and citizens throughout the UK without any real hope their next generation will be able to do any better in life than they have.

Leaders can mention improved access as much as they want. Yet where is the party that has the comprehensive policy agenda on social mobility? I observe no such party. Whichever party succeeds initially, wins. Not only for themselves, but, crucially, for a whole country that has never needed fair chances so urgently.