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Hello and welcome to political thinking.

A conversation with, rather than an interrogation of,

someone who shapes our political thinking about what has shaped theirs.

My guest this week is the new Work and Pension Secretary, Liz Kendall.

She's at the heart of a row about one of the most important dilemmas

facing this new government. How can you alleviate poverty on the one hand while at the same

time boosting growth by getting more people into work and off the

benefits bill. She's something of a fighter from her early days at school to taking on Jeremy Corbyn about the future direction of the Labour Party.

Liz Kendall, welcome to the public school.

Lovely to be here.

It's often said that the home secretary, any home secretary, has the toughest job in

government. I wonder if after this week you're a bit tempted to say, hold on, maybe my job should

be up there as well.

I mean there's a lot of tough jobs in government honestly.

I think it is a brilliant job.

It is, it touches the lives of millions of people and it needs big change, big reform if it's

going to improve people's lives that will be difficult but there's so much

potential there so I feel determined and optimistic and

very very lucky to be in the job. This week this rebellion about benefits must have felt painfully familiar to you.

You were a political advisor to Harriet Harmon when she was the welfare secretary way back in 1997 just after Labor had one a landslide victory.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown outraged many of their own natural supporters by cutting

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