As the original author advocated for social mobility as the key to Conservative success – but Boris Johnson failed to deliver. Now look at us.

While the beleaguered Tories convenes in its conference city for its annual party conference, it has a lot to reflect on regarding its future direction. There is uncertainty if a road forward is available. We are in tough times for a governing group that now has very little, if anything, new or unique to say to the public.

What Could Have Been

The situation might have been vastly better if tangible progress had been made on an priority that resonates with people across the country: Equal opportunity. But the former leadership lacked the basic understanding on how to convert the trendy talk on social mobility into policy reality. For the two years after the 2019 election, it debated what the term actually signified.

I was perplexed, because I had previously explained to Johnson what social mobility signified when we first spoke about it during his leadership campaign. The phrase was a term I developed and used at the DfE to talk about equal opportunity. It was our guiding principle, and its meaning is clear: levelling up is the method by which we attain equality of opportunity – without removing prospects away from those who possess it, but rather by extending chances to those that don’t.

Essential Principle

An additional vital ministry expression we used, “potential is equally shared around the UK, however access isn’t”, served as a deliberate expression, embodying the dual components of a fairness agenda. To begin with, potential shared equally but not developed consistently through our schools and colleges. Second, opportunities not spread evenly by employers or our economic system. Therefore, education and business were essential to achieving improved equality of opportunity. This was an mission about the community framework of our country – fostering human talent and connecting them to prospects.

What Levelling Up Became

What did the social mobility agenda turn into under the previous government? Regional development money administered out of the the relevant ministry. Decorative floral displays and reconfigured roundabouts and roads. A white paper was published almost thirty-six months after the Prime Minister took office, which saw current strategies repackaged under the recently branded agenda.

Consequently, a wider fairness strategy went ignored, as well as all the improvement that it might have driven – in capital, commerce, economic policy, tax and in place-making. And, of course, in learning, including a higher education sector that has become a scapegoat for politicians of all stripes – despite the fact that it remains the most powerful engine of life improvement for young working-class people, personally, this country has had throughout modern times. Maybe the sole mechanism of equal opportunity, functioning widely.

Why Hope Matters

Aspiration is crucial for our country to prosper. For hope to exist, there needs to be a believable feeling that dedication and outcome are connected; that if people aim high, they can succeed. For any government, being able to foster a sense of optimism about the tomorrow is critical. Analysis by the Institute for Policy Research at the academic establishment and others, published last month, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I established during my tenure – locally targeted strategies to enhancing learning results – led to youth in those areas being up to nearly one-fifth more optimistic about their future than those in similar areas without these initiatives in place. The data shows: just making an authentic start on pro-social mobility policy can quickly and positively change how people feel about their destiny.

Lost Potential

Ignoring this evidence, and in the middle of its new leader election, in autumn 2022, the ruling party terminated the programmes. Why would anyone in those areas vote for a organization that did that? The opportunity areas policy is a single instance of what could have been a game-changing administration strategy on social mobility, but that chance was completely wasted. Strategies such as this can create belief and drive. On the other hand, as the Tories learned, failing to deliver of fair chances is the costliest mistake any government can make. Voters punished the administration for its incompetence but, primarily, for its broken promises on equal opportunity.

The Current Landscape

At present the baton on equal opportunity and equal chances has passed to a opposition party. The old slogan has been cast off. Labour has its own public messaging of “eliminating hurdles to advancement”. The political group that is gradually replacing the struggling Conservative party, the challenger, also has its own terminology – “industrial revival”. This expression to talk about fresh prospects in communities like the one I come from, in South Yorkshire. It claims that an former economic strength can be reborn into an revitalized economy.

For the public, it must seem like a repetitive cycle. Similar challenge, alternative phrasing. However, so far, no progress.

The Way Forward

Should the current and alternative parties want to avoid the similar destiny, each group should learn from the Tories’ mistakes on social mobility; that fair chance language is one thing, but successful delivery of more equal results is far more challenging. Britain’s persistently low equal opportunity remains the key issue for our country, with the next generation unable to get a proper professional launch, those putting in effort in full-time jobs with few results after the living expenses are met, and citizens throughout the UK without any genuine belief their children will be able to do advance in life than they have.

Elected officials can mention improved access however much they like. But where is the party that has the thorough strategy on social mobility? I see none. Whoever gets there first, succeeds. Not just for themselves, but, more importantly, for a whole country that has never needed equality of opportunity so desperately.