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While the existentially challenged Conservative party meets in Manchester for its yearly gathering, it has plenty to consider regarding its next steps. There is uncertainty if a viable path is available. These are difficult days for a governing group that now has little, if anything, fresh or distinctive to say to the electorate.

An Alternate Reality

Things could have turned out so different if real advances had been made on an priority that resonates with people across the country: Levelling up. However Boris Johnson’s government hadn’t got the first clue on how to convert the popular slogan on levelling up into actual implementation. Over twenty-four months after the 2019 election, it discussed what the phrase truly represented.

It seemed strange to me, because I had previously explained to Johnson what levelling up signified when we first spoke about it during the contest for party leader. The phrase 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 clear: levelling up is the means by which we realize equality of opportunity – not by taking opportunity away from those who already have it, but rather by extending options to those that are without.

Essential Principle

Another crucial ministry expression we used, “ability is distributed uniformly around the UK, yet chances are not”, represented another a intentional wording, reflecting the two parts of a equal opportunity plan. First, ability distributed uniformly but not nurtured uniformly through our learning institutions. Furthermore, chances not distributed fairly by businesses or our market. Therefore, learning and employment were essential to achieving stronger social mobility. This was an priority about the community framework of our country – supporting people’s potential and linking them with chances.

What Levelling Up Became

How did levelling up evolve into under Johnson’s Conservatives? Local investment schemes managed by the the relevant ministry. Decorative floral displays and rearranged intersections. A government strategy was released a significant period after the Prime Minister took office, which saw current strategies repackaged under the new levelling up banner.

As a result, a comprehensive equal opportunity plan went undeveloped, as well as all the change that it may have generated – in capital, enterprise, fiscal strategy, taxation and in place-making. And, of course, in learning, including a tertiary education that has become a punchbag for elected officials – although it remains the strongest driver of social mobility for young working-class people, like me, this country has had in recent decades. Perhaps the only engine of equal opportunity, functioning widely.

The Role of Ambition

Aspiration is vital for our country to thrive. To foster ambition, there needs to be a realistic expectation that dedication and outcome are linked; that if people aspire, they can achieve. For any government, being able to create a feeling of hope about the tomorrow is crucial. Analysis by the research body at the university and others, newly available, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I established during my tenure – locally targeted strategies to enhancing learning results – led to youth in those communities being up to a significant margin more optimistic about their life ahead than those in similar areas without these initiatives in place. The data shows: just making an authentic start on fair opportunity strategies can swiftly and beneficially change how people view their destiny.

Missed Opportunities

Ignoring this evidence, and in the throes of its post-Johnson leadership contest, in autumn 2022, the Conservative government terminated the programmes. Why would anyone in those areas vote for a party that made that decision? This specific initiative is a clear case of what could have been a transformative administration strategy on levelling up, but that opportunity was completely wasted. Strategies such as this can inspire hope and aspiration. Conversely, as the ruling party learned, breaking the promise of fair chances is the biggest blunder any political party can make. Voters penalized the government for its ineffectiveness but, perhaps most of all, for its failed pledges on equal opportunity.

Today’s Political Reality

At present the baton on social mobility and equality of opportunity has been taken up by a opposition party. The old slogan has been cast off. The new government has its own public messaging of “removing obstacles to success”. The party that is increasingly displacing the hapless Conservative party, the challenger, also has its own language – “reindustrialisation”. The terminology to talk about fresh prospects in communities like the one I grew up in, in South Yorkshire. It promises that an historical manufacturing base can reincarnate into an revitalized economy.

For the public, it must feel like a déjà vu experience. Similar challenge, alternative phrasing. But – as yet – no results.

What Must Change

Should the current and alternative parties want to avoid the similar destiny, each group should learn from the Conservatives’ failure on social mobility; that social mobility rhetoric is one thing, but effective implementation of improved opportunities is far more challenging. Britain’s persistently low equal opportunity remains the primary challenge for our country, with young people unable to get a good job beginning, those laboring in occupations with few results after the living expenses are met, and individuals nationwide without any actual expectation their offspring will be able to do improve in life than they have.

Elected officials can mention equal chances repeatedly. But where is the party that has the comprehensive policy agenda on equal opportunity? I observe no such party. Whichever party succeeds initially, wins. Not just for their party, but, crucially, for a entire nation that has desperately requires fair chances so desperately.