Political science has not developed a strong sub-field in the politics of education. Three recent works on education policy under New Labour suggest strategies for applying insights drawn from the discipline of political science to the study of the field of education. One strand of existing scholarship on education policy and politics has emphasised the neoliberal, market elements of New Labour schools policy. This review article makes the case for a more nuanced account that disaggregates both state and market, and endorses the microlevel studies of changes in education governance undertaken by the works under review.