Martin Lewis, the money-saving expert, stormed the set of Good Morning Britain on Monday to confront Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch over her party's student loans policy. Lewis, who was not a scheduled guest, shouted from off-camera before walking into shot and sitting on the sofa alongside host Ed Balls and Mrs Badenoch.
The Conservative plan, unveiled overnight, would scrap above-inflation interest rate rises on Plan 2 student loans for English students who began courses between 2012 and 2022. The cost would be offset by cutting university courses deemed not to provide value for money, with shadow education secretary Laura Trott suggesting creative arts courses could be affected.
During the interview, Mr Bales challenged Mrs Badenoch on whether the policy would only benefit graduates earning enough to repay their loans. When Mrs Badenoch disputed this, Mr Lewis interjected, arguing that lowering interest rates would only help top earners who can clear their debt within 30 years. “If you have £1bn to help students, the most direct thing that would help all students would be not freezing the repayment threshold,” he said.
Mrs Badenoch insisted “everybody will benefit” and defended her plan as the first serious attempt to tackle the issue. Mr Lewis later apologised on social media for the interruption, saying Mrs Badenoch handled it “far better than I would have”. She responded by thanking him and saying she “loves a feisty debate”.
