February 23, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n\u201cIf you think that there is a better offer, let\u2019s look at it\u2026 the whole student loan system is not working properly, someone has to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis told Badenoch: \u201cAs the interest has already been added to so many students\u2019 loans, lowering the interest rate now will only help those who can clear within the 30 years, which means lower and middle earning graduates won\u2019t benefit from that change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Writing later on X, Lewis said: \u201cDear @KemiBadenoch, apologies for gate crashing your @GMB interview today. Student loans are so life-impacting that I wanted to ensure the key point was made \u2013 that financially, if not psychologically, the repayment threshold is a bigger issue than the interest\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThank you for being so courteous after the interruption \u2013 you handled it far better than I would have the other way round. I have asked my office to request a meeting, if you are available, to discuss this more calmly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Badenoch replied: \u201cHi @MartinSLewis, thank you. I really appreciate that, and honestly, don\u2019t worry. I do love a feisty debate!<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps people understand what the real issues are. You and I agree on the principle: student loans have become a scam. It took me eight years to pay mine off. I made my last payment in 2011, and I remember how happy I was, and my debt was only \u00a314,000. I can\u2019t imagine what it\u2019s like to be a young person with \u00a340,000 debt today. Whatever the Coalition government brought in back in 2012, it\u2019s clearly not working for the world of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019d genuinely love to come on your show and debate my plan vs yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cLooking forward to seeing you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking during his own section on Good Morning Britain, Lewis said changes being made to Plan 2 loans that would be struck down by the regulator if a commercial company tried to make them.<\/p>\n
Following Chancellor Rachel Reeves\u2019s November budget, the salary threshold at which repayments kick in under the Plan 2 system is set to be frozen for three years, leading to some people having to pay more.<\/p>\n
Speaking about Plan 2 loans, which were issued to people starting university from 2012 to 2023 in England and Wales, Mr Lewis said: \u201cWhen they were given them in the first place, it was said that the repayment threshold, the amount you pay 9% above, would go up each year. That is what students were told.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow what the Chancellor is doing by freezing that repayment threshold is a unilateral breach of contract. She is changing the contract in a negative way that affects students, or graduates now, which no commercial company would be allowed to do, which the regulator the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) would strike down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis added: \u201cThe really big problem with this is it\u2019s regressive. Because lower and middle earning graduates will just pay more each year for 30 years and get nothing from it. Higher earning graduates will pay more each year until their loan is paid off so it will reduce the interest that they pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cStructurally, it\u2019s horrible, it\u2019s a breach of contract, it is not moral, Chancellor, you need to reverse that decision and give students what they were promised. The threshold needs to go up with average earnings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis added: \u201cIt\u2019s psychologically horrible, the way we do student loans. And I understand why many people are out there going: \u2018My loan is going up and up, I\u2019m never going to repay it\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system was designed that most people wouldn\u2019t repay it\u2026 it\u2019s a graduate contribution, is what I would call it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis added: \u201cIf you want (students) to benefit, you either have to reduce their actual debt, you could reduce their debt, that would make a difference, and still be slightly regressive\u2026 or you massively up the repayment threshold, that\u2019s what\u2019s hurting people, too much money going out of their pockets amidst a cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the repayment threshold is the key, which is why I\u2019m so furious that the Chancellor is effectively lowering it by freezing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you want to do it, you don\u2019t just undo the freeze, you put it up, so you repay 9% of everything above, let\u2019s say 40 grand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then those people who have gained financially, got a graduate premium from their education, they would continue to pay, but those people who haven\u2019t wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd for the Plan 5 loans, the new loans that students take out now, the repayment threshold is set not much above minimum wage\u2026 the system\u2019s a nightmare, it\u2019s a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe totally need to think about how we communicate it and change the actual amount people are paying.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another post on X on Monday, Lewis said: \u201cI\u2019m concerned that my debate with Kemi Badenoch this morning distracts from the most immediate problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said of the plans to freeze the Plan 2 student loan threshold: \u201cThis is effectively a unilateral negative breach of the student loan contract. Students were told the threshold would rise with average earnings. No commercial lender would be allowed to do this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe govt shouldn\u2019t do it either. Changing the terms of future students loans is a political decision \u2013 people may not like it but it is transparent. Negatively changing the terms of contracts already signed, and long in place, is a breach of natural justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Government spokesperson said: \u201cWe inherited the student loans system, including Plan 2, which was devised by the previous government. Threshold freezes have been introduced to protect taxpayers and students now, alongside future generations of learners and workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe student finance system protects lower-earning graduates, with repayments determined by incomes and outstanding loans and interest being cancelled at the end of repayment terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince we were elected, we have been committed to supporting the aspiration of anyone who can and wants to attend higher education, including by reintroducing targeted maintenance grants to support the Prime Minister\u2019s target of two-thirds of young people taking a gold standard apprenticeship, higher training or heading to university by the age of 25.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all alongside our ongoing support for working people starting off in life, as we build 1.5 million new homes, expanding government-funded childcare, introducing free breakfast clubs and freezing rail fares.\u201d<\/p>\n
STV News is now on WhatsApp<\/p>\n
Get all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n
Follow STV News <\/a>Follow STV News on WhatsApp<\/p>\nScan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n
![\"WhatsApp](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/whatsapp-qr.png\")