In an earlier version of this paper (Noss, 1989), I sketched the rationale for recent changes in the UK curriculum, reviewed its antecedents, and offered a critical reading of the response to such changes from mathematical educators. In Noss (1990), I developed this theme, and tried to show how the specificities of the new National Curriculum played a role in establishing the general priorities of those in a dominant position in UK society. In this paper, I attempt to draw broader and more general conclusions, and to discuss the ways in which mathematics curricula can be conceptualised from a political point of view.