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As the struggling Tories convenes in Manchester for its yearly gathering, it has much to ponder regarding its path forward. There is uncertainty if a viable path exists at all. These are difficult days for a political party that now has almost nothing, if anything, fresh or distinctive to say to the public.

The Missed Opportunity

Things could have turned out vastly better if concrete steps had been made on an priority that resonates with people throughout the UK: Equal opportunity. But the previous administration lacked the basic understanding on how to transform the trendy talk on levelling up into concrete action. For the two years after the general election, it debated what the concept actually signified.

I was perplexed, because I’d already told Johnson what levelling up meant when we initially discussed about it during the contest for party leader. The phrase was a term I developed and used at the education ministry to talk about equal opportunity. This became our core mission, and its purpose is straightforward: levelling up is the method by which we achieve equal access – not through reducing prospects away from those who are already advantaged, but rather by expanding opportunities to those that lack them.

Essential Principle

The other key education department term we used, “potential is equally shared across our country, but opportunity is not”, served as a intentional wording, representing the dual components of a fairness agenda. Initially, ability distributed uniformly but not cultivated evenly through our schools and colleges. Second, opportunities not spread evenly by employers or our market. Thus, education and business were key to achieving improved equality of opportunity. This was an mission about the social fabric of our country – investing in individual capabilities and connecting them to opportunities.

The Actual Outcome

How did levelling up turn into under Johnson’s Conservatives? Local investment schemes administered out of the the relevant ministry. Decorative floral displays and redeveloped traffic systems. An official policy document was published almost thirty-six months after the leadership change, which saw existing policy approaches relabelled under the new levelling up banner.

Therefore, a broader social mobility agenda went undeveloped, as well as all the change that it could have inspired – in investment, business, financial planning, taxation and in place-making. And, of course, in schooling, including a university system that has become a scapegoat for politicians of all stripes – although it remains the strongest driver of life improvement for youth from modest backgrounds, personally, this country has had throughout modern times. Possibly the only engine of fair chances, functioning widely.

The Importance of Aspiration

Aspiration is vital for our country to succeed. For hope to exist, there needs to be a credible sense that hard work and results are connected; that if people aim high, they can achieve. For political leadership, being able to instil a feeling of hope about the tomorrow is critical. Research by the academic institution at the academic establishment and others, newly available, showed that the education department’s targeted regions I launched while in office – community-focused methods to improving education outcomes – led to young people in those areas being up to a significant margin more positive about their prospects than those in similar areas without these programmes in place. The evidence is clear: just making an authentic start on equal chance initiatives can quickly and positively change how people perceive their future.

Lost Potential

Unaware of these findings, and in the throes of its successor selection process, in September 2022, the ruling party terminated the programmes. What reason would someone in those areas vote for a party that made that decision? The targeted programme is a single instance of what could have been a game-changing Tory policy platform on social mobility, but that opportunity was totally misused. Strategies such as this can generate optimism and ambition. On the other hand, as the Conservatives learned, breaking the promise of social mobility is the costliest mistake any political party can make. Voters held accountable the administration for its failure but, above all, for its broken promises on levelling up.

Today’s Political Reality

At present the responsibility on social mobility and equality of opportunity has passed to a Labour government. The old slogan has been cast off. The new government has its own public messaging of “breaking down the barriers to opportunity”. The party that is increasingly displacing the failing Conservative party, the challenger, also has its own message – “economic renewal”. It’s a phrase to talk about fresh prospects in regions like the one I grew up in, in my hometown. It suggests that an former economic strength can reincarnate into an revitalized economy.

For voters, it must seem like a déjà vu experience. Similar challenge, new terminology. Yet, currently, little improvement.

Lessons for the Future

If Labour and Reform UK want to avoid the identical outcome, both these parties should learn from the Tories’ mistakes on social mobility; that fair chance language is simple terminology, but actual achievement of improved opportunities is significantly more difficult. The UK’s persistently low equal opportunity remains the primary challenge for our country, with youth unable to get a decent career start, those laboring in employment with little to show after the living expenses are met, and individuals nationwide without any actual expectation their children will be able to do advance in life than they have.

Leaders can discuss equal chances however much they like. Yet where is the political group that has the thorough strategy on life chances? None appear to exist. Whoever gets there first, wins. Not only for their party, but, crucially, for a whole country that has desperately requires fair chances so badly.