This article traces continuity and change in the governance of British education through the comparison of two ministers, Anthony Crosland and Michael Gove. Taking Maurice Kogan's seminal The Politics of Education as the point of departure, the article highlights the role of political ideology in large-scale educational change, taking school reorganization as a case study. The article argues that the recent tenure of Michael Gove indicates that large-scale change within the British education system still requires a (more or less) coherent ideological framework and considerable commitment on the part of the individual minister.