As the original author advocated for levelling up as the critical to Conservative success – but Boris Johnson didn’t do it. Now look at us.

As the beleaguered Conservative party convenes in Manchester for its annual party conference, it has a lot to reflect on regarding its next steps. There is uncertainty if a viable path is available. These are challenging circumstances for a political party that now has almost nothing, if anything, new or unique to say to the electorate.

An Alternate Reality

Things could have turned out vastly better if concrete steps had been made on an priority that resonates with people across the country: Levelling up. Yet the previous administration did not possess the slightest idea on how to transform the trendy talk on social mobility into concrete action. For the two years after the general election, it argued over what the concept actually signified.

It seemed strange to me, because I had clearly defined for Johnson what levelling up entailed when we initially discussed about it during his leadership campaign. The expression was a concept I originated and used at the DfE to talk about social mobility. It was our departmental mantra, and its purpose is straightforward: levelling up is the method by which we attain fair chances – without removing prospects away from those who already have it, but rather by extending options to those that don’t.

Fundamental Idea

The other key ministry expression we used, “talent is spread evenly throughout the nation, however access isn’t”, served as a intentional wording, embodying the two halves of a social mobility strategy. Initially, talent spread evenly but not developed consistently through our education system. Additionally, opportunities not spread evenly by businesses or our economy. Thus, education and business were essential to achieving better life chances. This represented an priority about the societal structure of our country – investing in individual capabilities and connecting them to prospects.

The Actual Outcome

What did levelling up turn into under the Tory administration? A towns fund overseen from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Hanging baskets and rearranged intersections. An official policy document was released nearly three years after Johnson became leader, which saw current strategies relabelled under the fresh social mobility slogan.

Therefore, a broader social mobility agenda went undeveloped, as well as all the change that it might have driven – in funding, enterprise, economic policy, taxation and in place-making. And, of course, in learning, including a university system that has become a target for politicians of all stripes – although it remains the most powerful engine of social mobility for youth from modest backgrounds, including myself, this country has had in recent decades. Maybe the sole mechanism of social mobility, working extensively.

The Role of Ambition

Hope is crucial for our country to succeed. To foster ambition, there needs to be a realistic expectation that hard work and results are related; that if people dream big, they can succeed. For any government, being able to instil a outlook of positivity about the years ahead is crucial. Studies by the academic institution at the university and others, recently released, showed that the DfE’s 12 “opportunity areas” I established during my tenure – community-focused methods to boosting academic achievement – led to young people in those neighborhoods being up to 18 percentage points more hopeful about their future than those in equivalent locations without these schemes in place. The research confirms: just making an authentic start on fair opportunity strategies can quickly and positively change how people feel about their prospects.

Lost Potential

Ignoring this evidence, and in the middle of its successor selection process, in September 2022, the Tory administration ended the initiatives. Why should any person in those regions vote for a organization that made that decision? This specific initiative is a clear case of what had the potential to be a transformative administration strategy on social mobility, but that chance was completely wasted. Strategies such as this can generate optimism and ambition. In contrast, as the Conservatives learned, failing to deliver of fair chances is the biggest blunder any leadership can make. The electorate punished the leadership for its failure but, primarily, for its failed pledges on social mobility.

Present Circumstances

Currently the mandate on life chances and equality of opportunity has passed to a new administration. The levelling up rhetoric has been discarded. Labour has its own public messaging of “removing obstacles to success”. The party that is steadily supplanting the hapless incumbents, the challenger, also has its own message – “reindustrialisation”. The terminology to talk about additional chances in regions like the one I grew up in, in South Yorkshire. It suggests that an industrial past can be reborn into an revitalized economy.

To the electorate, it must feel like a Groundhog Day-style loop. Similar challenge, new terminology. However, so far, no progress.

The Way Forward

Whether the government and opposition want to avoid the identical outcome, each group should learn from the Tories’ mistakes on levelling up; that equal opportunity talk is one thing, but effective implementation of improved opportunities is far more challenging. Our nation’s persistently low social mobility remains the central problem for our country, with youth unable to get a proper professional launch, those working hard in occupations with little to show after the housing costs are covered, and individuals nationwide without any genuine belief their next generation will be able to do advance in life than they have.

Politicians can discuss equal chances however much they like. Yet where is the organization that has the comprehensive policy agenda on social mobility? I observe no such party. Whoever gets there first, prevails. Not just for themselves, but, crucially, for a whole country that has urgently needs fair chances so badly.