I advocated for levelling up as the essential to Tory electoral victory – but the former Prime Minister failed to deliver. See the current state.

As the struggling Conservative party meets in its conference city for its yearly gathering, it has much to ponder regarding its next steps. It’s not even clear if a clear direction exists at all. These are difficult days for a governing group that now has little, if anything, new or unique to say to voters.

An Alternate Reality

Things could have turned out markedly improved if real advances had been made on an priority that resonates with people throughout the UK: Levelling up. However the previous administration hadn’t got the first clue on how to transform his zeitgeisty rhetoric on levelling up into concrete action. Over twenty-four months after the general election, it argued over what the term even meant.

It seemed strange to me, because I’d already told the Prime Minister what levelling up entailed when we initially discussed about it during the contest for party leader. This terminology was a concept I originated and used at the Department for Education to talk about equal opportunity. It served as our departmental mantra, and its definition is straightforward: social mobility is the means by which we realize fair chances – not through reducing prospects away from those who are already advantaged, but rather by providing options to those that are without.

The Core Concept

An additional vital DfE phrase we used, “ability is distributed uniformly throughout the nation, but opportunity is not”, again was a deliberate expression, reflecting the dual components of a fairness agenda. Initially, ability distributed uniformly but not cultivated evenly through our learning institutions. Additionally, opportunities not spread evenly by employers or our economy. As a result, schools and companies were key to achieving stronger social mobility. This was an mission about the societal structure of our country – supporting human talent and providing access to prospects.

The Actual Outcome

How did the social mobility agenda turn into under Johnson’s Conservatives? Regional development money managed by the DLUHC. Hanging baskets and redeveloped traffic systems. A white paper was launched almost thirty-six months after Johnson became leader, which saw existing policy approaches rebadged under the new levelling up banner.

Consequently, a wider fairness strategy went ignored, as well as all the change that it may have generated – in investment, business, economic policy, tax and in local regeneration. Moreover, in education, including a tertiary education that has become a scapegoat for politicians of all stripes – although it remains the primary vehicle of upward movement for young working-class people, like me, this country has had over the past 30 years. Perhaps the only engine of fair chances, operating at scale.

Why Hope Matters

Ambition is essential for our country to prosper. For hope to exist, there needs to be a realistic expectation that hard work and results are connected; that if people dream big, they can attain. For all administrations, being able to instil a sense of optimism about the years ahead is important. Studies by the academic institution at the university and others, newly available, showed that the DfE’s 12 “opportunity areas” I introduced as education secretary – community-focused methods to enhancing learning results – led to students in those neighborhoods being up to nearly one-fifth more optimistic about their future than those in comparable communities without these schemes in place. The data shows: just making an sincere effort on equal chance initiatives can quickly and positively change how people feel about their destiny.

Lost Potential

Oblivious to this, and in the throes of its successor selection process, in autumn 2022, the ruling party terminated the programmes. What reason would someone in those areas vote for a organization that made that decision? The opportunity areas policy is a clear case of what could have been a revolutionary Conservative government agenda on levelling up, but that opportunity was totally misused. Methods such as this can inspire hope and aspiration. Conversely, as the ruling party found out, breaking the promise of fair chances is the costliest mistake any government can make. The electorate held accountable the leadership for its failure but, primarily, for its failed pledges on equal opportunity.

Present Circumstances

Now the mandate on life chances and equality of opportunity has been transferred to a new administration. The old slogan has been abandoned. The new government has its own policy language of “eliminating hurdles to advancement”. The party that is steadily supplanting the hapless Tories, the alternative party, also has its own terminology – “reindustrialisation”. It’s a phrase to talk about new opportunities in communities like the one I come from, in the region. It promises that an industrial past can reincarnate into an revitalized economy.

To the electorate, it must feel like a Groundhog Day-style loop. Same issue, different language. Yet, currently, little improvement.

What Must Change

Should the current and alternative parties want to escape the identical outcome, the respective organizations should understand the previous government’s errors on levelling up; that social mobility rhetoric is one thing, but effective implementation of more equal results is significantly more difficult. The UK’s persistently low social mobility remains the key issue for our country, with youth unable to get a proper professional launch, those working hard in employment with little to show after the living expenses are met, and citizens throughout the UK without any genuine belief their offspring will be able to do advance in life than they have.

Elected officials can mention equal chances repeatedly. However, which party has the organization that has the thorough strategy on life chances? None appear to exist. Whichever party succeeds initially, prevails. Not only for themselves, but, crucially, for a complete society that has never needed fair chances so urgently.