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As the beleaguered Tories gathers in its conference city for its yearly gathering, it has much to ponder regarding its path forward. It’s not even clear if a clear direction exists at all. These are difficult days for a political party that now has very little, if anything, new or unique to say to the public.

What Could Have Been

It could have been vastly better if tangible progress had been made on an agenda that resonates with people nationwide: Equal opportunity. However the former leadership did not possess the basic understanding on how to transform his zeitgeisty rhetoric on levelling up into policy reality. During the initial period after the general election, it debated what the term actually signified.

It seemed strange to me, because I’d already told Johnson what social mobility meant when we originally talked about it during his leadership campaign. This terminology was a concept I originated and used at the Department for Education to talk about life chances. It served as our guiding principle, and its purpose is straightforward: social mobility is the approach by which we achieve fair chances – without removing opportunity away from those who possess it, but rather by expanding opportunities to those that lack them.

Fundamental Idea

Another crucial DfE phrase we used, “potential is equally shared around the UK, however access isn’t”, again was a purposeful phrase, embodying the two parts of a social mobility strategy. Initially, talent spread evenly but not developed consistently through our education system. Additionally, access not provided uniformly by employers or our market. Therefore, education and business were essential to achieving improved equality of opportunity. This was an mission about the societal structure of our country – fostering human talent and providing access to opportunities.

The Reality of Implementation

How did levelling up become under the Tory administration? Local investment schemes overseen from the the relevant ministry. Decorative floral displays and redeveloped traffic systems. A government strategy was published a significant period after Johnson became leader, which saw ongoing initiatives repackaged under the recently branded agenda.

Therefore, a comprehensive equal opportunity plan went undeveloped, as well as all the reform that it may have generated – in funding, business, economic policy, taxation and in community development. And, of course, in education, including a university system that has become a scapegoat for politicians of all stripes – despite the fact that it remains the most powerful engine of upward movement for individuals from less privileged homes, like me, this country has had over the past 30 years. Perhaps the primary source of equal opportunity, operating at scale.

Why Hope Matters

Hope is essential for our country to prosper. To foster ambition, there needs to be a believable feeling that effort and reward are connected; that if people aim high, they can attain. For any government, being able to create a feeling of hope about the future is important. Analysis by the academic institution at the academic establishment and others, newly available, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I established during my tenure – community-focused methods to enhancing learning results – led to young people in those communities being up to nearly one-fifth more positive about their life ahead than those in comparable communities without these schemes in place. The evidence is clear: just making an sincere effort on equal chance initiatives can quickly and positively change how people view their future.

Lost Potential

Unaware of these findings, and in the middle of its post-Johnson leadership contest, in September 2022, the ruling party terminated the programmes. Why would anyone in those communities vote for a political group that made that decision? This specific initiative is one example of what had the potential to be a game-changing administration strategy on social mobility, but that opportunity was hopelessly squandered. Approaches such as this can generate optimism and ambition. Conversely, as the Tories discovered, reneging on commitments of social mobility is the most expensive error any government can make. The public punished the leadership for its failure but, above all, for its unfulfilled commitments on levelling up.

Present Circumstances

Now the responsibility on equal opportunity and equal chances has passed to a Labour government. The old slogan has been discarded. The current administration has its own public messaging of “eliminating hurdles to advancement”. The party that is increasingly displacing the struggling Tories, the alternative party, also has its own terminology – “economic renewal”. It’s a phrase to talk about new opportunities in communities like the one I come from, in my hometown. It claims that an historical manufacturing base can reincarnate into an revitalized economy.

For the public, it must seem like a Groundhog Day-style loop. Same issue, alternative phrasing. However, so far, no progress.

What Must Change

If Labour and Reform UK want to escape the same fate, the respective organizations should understand the previous government’s errors on social mobility; that fair chance language is one thing, but successful delivery of fairer outcomes is significantly more difficult. The UK’s chronically poor equal opportunity remains the key issue for our country, with youth unable to get a good job beginning, those laboring in employment with little to show after the living expenses are met, and individuals nationwide without any real hope their offspring will be able to do improve in life than they have.

Politicians can discuss equal chances as much as they want. Yet where is the party that has the comprehensive policy agenda on life chances? I see none. The first to achieve this, prevails. Not only for themselves, but, more importantly, for a whole country that has never needed equality of opportunity so desperately.