The Labour government showed no interest in extending local democracy in the school system, in spite of a policy rhetoric of local democratic renewal. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's localism agenda promotes the autonomy of schools from local authorities without proposing alternative forms of local democracy in the school system. The perspective of this paper is derived from a Gramscian Marxist critique of dominant discourses within the field of urban governance. From this vantage point it examines the research evidence regarding participation in governance within local school systems. It ends by offering an alternative approach towards more democratic participative governance in local school systems based on a recognition of conflicting class interests and the need to re-envision the role of local authorities. (Contains 93 footnotes.)