🔗 Share this article I championed levelling up as the critical to Tory success – but Boris Johnson failed to deliver. Observe the consequences. As the existentially challenged Tories gathers in Manchester for its yearly gathering, it has much to ponder regarding its future direction. Doubt remains if a road forward is available. We are in challenging circumstances for a governing group that now has little, if anything, fresh or distinctive to say to the electorate. The Missed Opportunity It could have been vastly better if real advances had been made on an agenda that matters to people nationwide: Social mobility. But the former leadership lacked the first clue on how to convert the trendy talk on levelling up into actual implementation. Over twenty-four months after the 2019 election, it debated what the term even meant. I was perplexed, because I had clearly defined for the Prime Minister what social mobility signified when we initially discussed about it during his leadership campaign. The expression was a term I developed and used at the Department for Education to talk about life chances. It served as our guiding principle, and its purpose is clear: social mobility is the method by which we realize fair chances – without removing chances away from those who already have it, but rather by expanding opportunities to those that lack them. The Core Concept Another crucial DfE phrase we used, “talent is spread evenly around the UK, yet chances are not”, again was a deliberate expression, reflecting the dual components of a equal opportunity plan. Initially, potential shared equally but not developed consistently through our schools and colleges. Additionally, chances not distributed fairly by the private sector or our market. Thus, schools and companies were essential to achieving stronger social mobility. This was an priority about the social fabric of our country – fostering individual capabilities and providing access to prospects. What Levelling Up Became What did levelling up turn into under the previous government? Local investment schemes administered out of the the relevant ministry. Hanging baskets and reconfigured roundabouts and roads. A white paper was released a significant period after the leadership change, which saw existing policy approaches repackaged under the new levelling up banner. Therefore, a comprehensive equal opportunity plan went unpursued, as well as all the change that it might have driven – in funding, commerce, fiscal strategy, tax and in community development. Additionally, in learning, including a university system that has become a scapegoat for elected officials – despite the fact that it remains the strongest driver of social mobility for young working-class people, like me, this country has had over the past 30 years. Possibly the primary source of fair chances, operating at scale. The Role of Ambition Hope is crucial for our country to succeed. For hope to exist, there needs to be a realistic expectation that hard work and results are related; that if people aspire, they can attain. For any government, being able to instil a feeling of hope about the years ahead is critical. Analysis by the academic institution at the academic establishment and others, recently released, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I introduced as education secretary – community-focused methods to boosting academic achievement – led to youth in those communities being up to a significant margin more positive about their future than those in comparable communities without these initiatives in place. The evidence is clear: just making an authentic start on equal chance initiatives can swiftly and beneficially change how people feel about their future. Missed Opportunities Ignoring this evidence, and in the middle of its successor selection process, in September 2022, the Tory administration closed opportunity areas down. Why would anyone in those areas vote for a party that did that? The opportunity areas policy is one example of what might have become a revolutionary Tory policy platform on levelling up, but that opportunity was totally misused. Strategies such as this can generate optimism and ambition. In contrast, as the Tories found out, failing to deliver of social mobility is the most expensive error any government can make. The electorate penalized the administration for its incompetence but, above all, for its failed pledges on levelling up. Today’s Political Reality At present the mandate on life chances and equality of opportunity has passed to a Labour government. The old slogan has been cast off. The current administration has its own policy language of “eliminating hurdles to advancement”. The organization that is increasingly displacing the hapless Tories, the alternative party, also has its own message – “economic renewal”. It’s a phrase to talk about new opportunities in regions like the one I come from, in my hometown. It suggests that an industrial past can be reborn into an revitalized economy. For voters, it must appear as a déjà vu experience. Similar challenge, different language. But – as yet – no results. What Must Change If Labour and Reform UK want to escape the identical outcome, the respective organizations should understand the previous government’s errors on social mobility; that fair chance language is simple terminology, but actual achievement of improved opportunities is much harder. The UK’s endemically weak life chances remains the key issue for our country, with youth unable to get a proper professional launch, those working hard in occupations with minimal progress after the living expenses are met, and people across the country without any genuine belief their offspring will be able to do improve in life than they have. Leaders can mention equal chances however much they like. But where is the party that has the comprehensive policy agenda on life chances? I observe no such party. Whoever gets there first, succeeds. Not just for their party, but, more importantly, for a complete society that has urgently needs equal access so badly.