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While the struggling Tories gathers in Manchester for its yearly gathering, it has plenty to consider regarding its path forward. Doubt remains if a clear direction exists at all. We are in challenging circumstances for a political party that now has little, if anything, fresh or distinctive to say to the electorate.

The Missed Opportunity

Things could have turned out markedly improved if real advances had been made on an policy focus that resonates with people throughout the UK: Social mobility. Yet the former leadership lacked the basic understanding on how to convert the trendy talk on social mobility 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 Johnson what social mobility entailed when we initially discussed about it during the contest for party leader. This terminology was a concept I originated and used at the DfE to talk about social mobility. It was our departmental mantra, and its definition is straightforward: social mobility is the method by which we achieve equality of opportunity – not by taking prospects away from those who possess it, but rather by extending chances to those that are without.

The Core Concept

Another crucial DfE phrase we used, “ability is distributed uniformly across our country, however access isn’t”, represented another a purposeful phrase, reflecting the dual components of a social mobility strategy. First, talent spread evenly but not nurtured uniformly through our education system. Additionally, opportunities not spread evenly by the private sector or our market. Thus, learning and employment were crucial to achieving better life chances. This was an agenda about the community framework of our country – fostering individual capabilities and connecting them to chances.

The Reality of Implementation

How did the social mobility agenda become under the previous government? Regional development money managed by the the relevant ministry. Decorative floral displays and rearranged intersections. An official policy document was published nearly three years after the leadership change, which saw current strategies relabelled under the recently branded agenda.

Consequently, a broader social mobility agenda went undeveloped, as well as all the change that it could have inspired – in investment, commerce, fiscal strategy, revenue and in local regeneration. Moreover, in schooling, including a university system that has become a scapegoat for politicians of all stripes – even though it remains the strongest driver of social mobility for individuals from less privileged homes, personally, this country has had over the past 30 years. Possibly the sole mechanism of fair chances, functioning widely.

Why Hope Matters

Aspiration is essential for our country to succeed. For people to have aspiration, there needs to be a realistic expectation that hard work and results are connected; that if people dream big, they can achieve. For political leadership, being able to instil a feeling of hope about the years ahead is crucial. Studies by the research body at the university and others, recently released, showed that the ministry’s focus zones I launched while in office – community-focused methods to enhancing learning results – led to students in those communities being up to a significant margin more positive about their prospects than those in similar areas without these programmes in place. The evidence is clear: just making an authentic start on pro-social mobility policy can swiftly and beneficially change how people feel about their future.

Lost Potential

Ignoring this evidence, and in the midst of its post-Johnson leadership contest, in September 2022, the Tory administration terminated the programmes. Why should any person in those communities vote for a political group that did that? The opportunity areas policy is a single instance of what might have become a transformative administration strategy on levelling up, but that possibility was hopelessly squandered. Methods such as this can generate optimism and ambition. Conversely, as the Conservatives found out, failing to deliver of equal opportunity is the most expensive error any political party can make. The public punished the administration for its failure but, primarily, for its failed pledges on social mobility.

Today’s Political Reality

Now the baton on life chances and equality of opportunity has passed to a Labour government. The previous terminology has been cast off. Labour has its own political rhetoric of “breaking down the barriers to opportunity”. The organization that is increasingly displacing the struggling Conservative party, the challenger, also has its own terminology – “economic renewal”. The terminology to talk about new opportunities in communities like the one I grew up in, in my hometown. It claims that an historical manufacturing base can be reborn into an modern manufacturing sector.

For the public, it must seem like a déjà vu experience. Identical problem, different language. However, so far, no progress.

Lessons for the Future

Whether the government and opposition want to prevent the same fate, the respective organizations should understand the Conservatives’ failure on social mobility; that fair chance language is one thing, but actual achievement of fairer outcomes is significantly more difficult. Britain’s endemically weak equal opportunity remains the primary challenge for our country, with the next generation unable to get a decent career start, those working hard in full-time jobs with few results after the rent has been paid, and people across the country without any actual expectation their next generation will be able to do improve in life than they have.

Politicians can talk about improved access as much as they want. Yet where is the party that has the complete plan on life chances? I observe no such party. Whichever party succeeds initially, wins. Not only for their organization, but, crucially, for a complete society that has urgently needs equality of opportunity so desperately.