Martin Lewis interrupts GMB interview to challenge Kemi Badenoch over student loans

Lewis interrupted Badenoch's interview to challenge the Tory leader.

On Monday morning, the Conservative Party leader was interviewed by GMB hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls when the conversation turned to student loans.

It was at this point that Lewis walked over to the sofa to challenge Badenoch over her party’s recent pledge to cut the rate of interest charged on some Plan 2 loans.

Balls had told Badenoch: “You want to cut the interest rate on student loans, and you’re going to pay for it by saying to 100,000 people who might be applying for what you call low value rip-off degrees, that they shouldn’t go to university, and the money you save from stopping them to go to university, you will then use to cut interest rates on loans.”

As Badenoch responded, Reid said: “Martin Lewis is coming to the studio!”

The Money Saving Expert walked over and told Badenoch: “If you want to help the middle earning students, the most important thing is the repayment threshold should have been increased.”

A conversation then ensued between Lewis and the politician, as he argued Badenoch’s proposals were the ‘right idea’ but would not benefit lower or middle-earning graduates, who he said should be the focus.

The financial expert also pointed out to Badenoch that it was her party who introduced the Plan 2 loans in 2012.

You can watch the debate below, which ended with the pair agreeing to have a chat after the show about student loan plans.

Lewis has been a vocal campaigner on student loans. Last month, he criticised Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s proposals to freeze the threshold at which graduates begin to repay Plan 2 student loans.

He said this was “not the moral thing to do” in a direct message to Reeves.

You can read more about that here.