and defend the pension system. my guest on political thinking this week is a new member of liz truss�*s new cabinet. he's the education secretary, kit malthouse. four years before then he did morejunior roles, having been deputy to boris johnson, not as prime minister, but when he was mayor of london. kit malthouse is seen as a fixer. he becomes the fifth education secretary in a little over a year, a sign ofjust how unstable politics has been. kit malthouse, welcome to political thinking. thank you. i'm flattered to be here. well, it's been a roller coaster ride this week, hasn't it? it has been a challenging week, as they say. i think that's the euphemism that politicians use. but hopefully things will settle, although i have to say it comes. i mean, i got elected in 2015