The politics of educational policy making under New Labour: an illustration of shifts in public service governance

This article draws on data from a study carried out on the evolution of specialist schools under New Labour in England in order to illustrate changes in educational governance. Shifts in policy-making power are highlighted, away from increasingly marginalised traditional corporatist partners, towards 'denocracy' (Seldon, 2004) or greater political centralisation. 'Presidentialisation' under Prime Minister Tony Blair was accompanied by fast-growing policy networks, lending legitimacy to centralised policy ideas while intensifying connections and blurring lines between state and non-state. However, while spaces and sites for policy activity became more extensive, they remained exclusive, with insiders and outsiders clearly defined.