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As the existentially challenged Conservative party convenes in its conference city for its yearly gathering, it has plenty to consider regarding its future direction. Doubt remains if a viable path exists at all. These are tough times for a governing group that now has little, if anything, new or unique to say to voters.

What Could Have Been

It could have been vastly better if tangible progress had been made on an policy focus that is important for people across the country: Social mobility. However the previous administration did not possess the first clue on how to convert the popular slogan on social mobility into actual implementation. During the initial period after the general election, it debated what the concept truly represented.

It seemed strange to me, because I had clearly defined for the Prime Minister what social mobility meant when we originally talked about it during the contest for party leader. The expression was a concept I originated and used at the education ministry to talk about social mobility. It was our core mission, and its definition is clear: levelling up is the means by which we attain fair chances – not through reducing chances away from those who already have it, but rather by extending chances to those that are without.

Fundamental Idea

An additional vital education department term we used, “ability is distributed uniformly across our country, however access isn’t”, served as a intentional wording, reflecting the two parts of a social mobility strategy. Initially, potential shared equally but not developed consistently through our learning institutions. Additionally, chances not distributed fairly by employers or our economic system. As a result, schools and companies were crucial to achieving better life chances. This constituted an mission about the social fabric of our country – fostering human talent and linking them with prospects.

The Reality of Implementation

How did the social mobility agenda become under Johnson’s Conservatives? A towns fund overseen from the the relevant ministry. Street beautification and rearranged intersections. A white paper was published a significant period after Johnson became leader, which saw ongoing initiatives repackaged under the recently branded agenda.

As a result, a wider fairness strategy went unpursued, as well as all the change that it might have driven – in investment, commerce, financial planning, taxation and in local regeneration. Additionally, in education, including a higher education sector that has become a target for leaders across parties – although it remains the strongest driver of upward movement for youth from modest backgrounds, including myself, this country has had over the past 30 years. Perhaps the primary source of fair chances, operating at scale.

The Role of Ambition

Ambition is vital for our country to thrive. For people to have aspiration, there needs to be a believable feeling that dedication and outcome are linked; that if people dream big, they can attain. For all administrations, being able to foster a outlook of positivity about the future is crucial. Studies by the academic institution at Bath University and others, published last month, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I launched while in office – place-based approaches to improving education outcomes – led to students in those neighborhoods being up to 18 percentage points more hopeful about their prospects than those in comparable communities without these schemes in place. The data shows: just making an genuine beginning on fair opportunity strategies can swiftly and beneficially change how people perceive their future.

Missed Opportunities

Oblivious to this, and in the midst of its post-Johnson leadership contest, in September 2022, the Conservative government terminated the programmes. Why should any person in those regions vote for a party that did that? The targeted programme is one example of what had the potential to be a revolutionary administration strategy on levelling up, but that opportunity was completely wasted. Approaches such as this can inspire hope and aspiration. Conversely, as the Conservatives found out, reneging on commitments of fair chances is the most expensive error any political party can make. The public held accountable the leadership for its failure but, above all, for its unfulfilled commitments on social mobility.

The Current Landscape

Currently the responsibility on life chances and equality of opportunity has been transferred to a new administration. The old slogan has been discarded. Labour has its own public messaging of “breaking down the barriers to opportunity”. The organization that is gradually replacing the struggling Tories, the challenger, also has its own terminology – “economic renewal”. The terminology to talk about fresh prospects in communities like the one I was raised in, in the region. It suggests that an industrial past can revive into an industrial future.

To the electorate, it must feel like a repetitive cycle. Same issue, different language. Yet, currently, little improvement.

The Way Forward

Whether the government and opposition want to prevent the identical outcome, each group should learn from the previous government’s errors on social mobility; that social mobility rhetoric is one thing, but successful delivery of fairer outcomes is much harder. The UK’s chronically poor social mobility remains the central problem for our country, with young people unable to get a decent career start, those putting in effort in employment with few results after the living expenses are met, and people across the country without any real hope their next generation will be able to do improve in life than they have.

Leaders can mention improved access however much they like. Yet where is the political group that has the thorough strategy on life chances? I observe no such party. Whichever party succeeds initially, prevails. Not just for themselves, but, more importantly, for a whole country that has desperately requires fair chances so urgently.