Background

After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Kit Malthouse MP founded a midlands-based finance company, which he now chairs. He was also a councilor on Westminster Council (1998-2006) and a member of the London Assembly (2008-16), serving as Deputy Mayor for Policing (2008-12) and Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise (2012-15).

Political Career

"Before his appointment to Secretary of State for Education, Malthouse was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2022). He also previously held ministerial positions at the Home Office, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities), and the Department for Work and Pensions. He was elected to Parliament in 2015.

He is perhaps best known for the ‘Malthouse compromise’, a Brexit plan he attempted to broker between Leave and Remain-supporting MPs in 2019."

View on portfolio

"While Malthouse has not shown a particular interest in education outside of a ministerial brief, when asked how he felt about his new role, he said it is “the most important job in Whitehall”. During his time as Policing Minister at the Home Office, Malthouse said he believed schools should teach boys how to treat women and girls with respect (comments made in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer). He was also responsible for coordinating the Government’s response to the extreme heatwave in July and received criticism for telling schools to stay open.

Malthouse is the fourth Education Secretary since July, the fifth in a year and the ninth since the Conservatives took office in 2010. He takes over the Department for Education at a challenging time with the cost-of-living crisis challenging schools, parents’, and students. He also faces the likelihood of teacher strikes."