Martin Lewis ambush: martin lewis storms onto Good Morning Britain set to confront Kemi Badenoch over student loans plan

martin lewis walked onto the Good Morning Britain set during a live ITV interview with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to challenge the party’s plans to cut interest rates on some student loans. The interruption underlined a broader debate over whether the proposal would mainly help higher earners or wider cohorts of graduates.

How the on-air confrontation played out during Ed Balls’s interview

Ed Balls was interviewing Kemi Badenoch on Good Morning Britain when he challenged her over whether the Conservative plan would help only former students in the highest-paying jobs. Badenoch replied, “I don’t think that’s right, ” and Balls shot back, “It’s definitely right. ” At that point martin lewis began shouting from off-set, walked into shot, sided with Balls and ended up sitting on the sofa while the interview continued.

What the Conservative plan would change for Plan 2 loans in England

The proposal set out overnight would scrap any above-inflation interest rate increases on so-called Plan 2 student loans in England for those who started courses from 2012 to 2022. The change would be financed by cutting tens of thousands of university courses described as not providing “value for money. ” Interviewed about the plan on Sunday, the shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, suggested those cuts could include creative arts courses.

Arguments on who benefits: repayment thresholds, 30 years and a £1bn example

martin lewis told Badenoch that while the system needed change, the Tory plan was the wrong approach. He said, “If you want to help the middle-earning students, the most important thing is the repayment threshold should have been increased. ” He added that lowering the interest rate now would only help those who can clear the debt within the 30 years, and said, using the example in the interview, that “If you have £1bn to help students, the most direct thing that would help all students would be not freezing the repayment threshold. ” Badenoch insisted that “everybody will benefit” and said, “I’m the first person who’s even trying to solve this problem. ”

Martin Lewis apologises and seeks a calmer discussion on X

After the interruption, Martin Lewis apologised to Badenoch and praised how she handled it, saying she managed it “far better than I would have the other way round. ” He wrote on X that he was sorry for gatecrashing the interview and argued that, financially if not psychologically, the repayment threshold is a bigger issue than interest. He added that he had asked his office to request a meeting, if she was available, to “discuss this more calmly. ” Badenoch replied on X, thanking him, saying she “really appreciate[s] that” and that she “does love a feisty debate. ”

Badenoch’s wider reply, Lewis’s wider critique and Plan 2 concerns

In a longer message, Badenoch said student loans “have become a scam, ” recalled that it took her eight years to pay hers off, that she made her last payment in 2011 and that her debt had been £14, 000. She said she could not imagine “what it’s like to be a young person with £40, 000 debt today, ” and argued that whatever the Coalition government brought in back in 2012 was “clearly not working for the world of 2026. ” She said she would “genuinely love to come on your show and debate my plan vs yours” and added she was “looking forward to seeing you soon. ”

Lewis had previously described the student loans system as a “nightmare” and a “mess. ” He focused on controversial Plan 2 loans, arguing that changes being made to those loans would be struck down by the regulator if a commercial company tried to make them. He also recalled that when the Conservative government brought the system in in 2012 he had said it should not include above-inflation interest rates.

Political stakes and public trust in the campaigner

martin lewis is calling on the Chancellor to change a key decision she made in the last budget, saying the move amounted to a breach of the contract graduates originally signed. The exchange came ahead of Lewis’s scheduled appearance on the show; he regularly appears on Good Morning Britain and polling shows he styles himself as a money-saving expert who is heavily trusted by much of the public on personal finance matters. The coverage included a caption noting that Martin Lewis questions Kemi Badenoch about the Conservatives’ proposals.

There is increasing political consensus that the current system,