Martin Lewis storms Good Morning Britain set to confront Kemi Badenoch over student loan plans

Finance campaigner martin lewis marched onto the Good Morning Britain set and interrupted an interview with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to challenge her party’s plan on student loan interest. The confrontation matters because Lewis argued the policy will primarily benefit higher earners while a contested budget decision may breach the contracts graduates originally signed.

Martin Lewis confronts Kemi Badenoch on Good Morning Britain

Ed Balls was interviewing Kemi Badenoch on Good Morning Britain about the Conservative proposal to cut interest rates on some student loans when the confrontation unfolded. Balls had challenged Badenoch over whether the plan would mainly help those in the highest-paying jobs; she denied that was the case. martin lewis began shouting from off-set, walked into shot to back Balls’s line, and took a seat on the sofa before the discussion continued.

Kemi Badenoch defends Conservative plan to scrap above-inflation increases

Badenoch remained adamant that "everybody will benefit" from the change and asserted she was “the first person who’s even trying to solve this problem. ” 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 government’s outline says the change would be financed by cutting tens of thousands of university courses judged not to provide "value for money" for students.

Ed Balls and Laura Trott press implications for students

Balls countered that the measure would only help graduates who earn enough to begin repaying their debt. The shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, suggested on Sunday that the proposed course cuts could include creative arts courses. Balls told Badenoch the plan would mostly benefit those able to start paying off their debt, and Badenoch pushed back; Balls replied: "It's definitely right. "

Martin Lewis outlines alternative: raise repayment threshold, not cut interest

Lewis said the system needs change but called Badenoch’s proposal the wrong approach. He argued the most important reform for helping middle-earning graduates would have been increasing the repayment threshold. "Lowering the interest rate now will only help those who can clear the debt within the 30 years, " he said, adding that lower- and middle-earning graduates would not benefit. He suggested that if there is £1bn to help students, the most direct measure that would help all students would be not freezing the repayment threshold.

Martin Lewis urges Chancellor to reverse budget decision and apologises for interruption

Lewis has called on the Chancellor to change a key decision on student loans made in the last budget, describing it as a breach of the contract graduates originally signed. He reminded viewers that when the Conservative government introduced the system in 2012 he had warned against above-inflation interest rates. Following the on-air interruption he apologised to Badenoch, saying she handled the situation "far better than I would have the other way round, " and wrote on X that he had asked his office to request a meeting to discuss the matter more calmly. Badenoch replied that she welcomed the offer and said, "I do love a feisty debate!"

What makes this notable is the collision of public trust and political messaging: polling indicates Lewis is widely trusted on personal finance, and his on-air intervention put public scrutiny on the mechanics of how the policy would be funded and who would benefit. There is increasing political consensus that the current system, unclear in the provided context.