Nigel Farage blasted by Ed Balls over tax plans in GMB interview as viewers left wincing

Nigel Farage has been blasted by a former Labour minister over his tax plans on live TV.

Ed Balls - who is a presenter on ITV's Good Morning Britain programme - grilled the Reform leader alongside his colleagued Susanna Reid on Tuesday morning.

The ex-shadow chancellor slapped down Farage when he said his plans to raise the personal tax allowance would benefit the poorest most.

Farage's tax plans have been debunked by economists. They have warned that the right-wing party's proposals would result in huge cuts for public services.

Balls pointed out that the rich would benefit most.

He said: "People on benefits wouldn't benefit at all from the personal tax allowance because they wouldn't be paying any tax."

He added: "Facts are important here. The person who would benefit most from your personal tax proposal is someone who earns £95,000."

Farage danced around the question, as he responded "the poorest in society would benefit the most" without offering further details on how.

Balls said: "They would gain far more than somebody on average earnings, who would gain much more than somebody on the minimum wage. Did you not know that?"

A flapping Farage insisted his proposals were correct "on percentage terms".

But this was again rebuffed by Balls, who said: "That's not right. Somebody on the minimum wage would gain less, absolutely and proportionally, than somebody on average earnings or on £95,000. Your tax proposals help people who are richer rather than poorer."

A flustered Farage moaned: "This is so typical."

GMB viewers took to social media to criticise the Reform UK leader after the grilling. One person wrote: "Slippery, defensive Farage, weary of inconvenient truths, reverts to name-calling and stereotyping when he's caught out lying again."

Another said: "Well done Susanna Reid and Ed Balls. Farage falling apart faster than a failed Soufflé. It's never him but he has leadership aspirations." Meanwhile, a third wrote: "God that was embarrassing. Suspect Farage will spend the rest of the day licking his wounds after that train-crash interview".

Later on in the show, Mr Balls reflected on the heated interview alongside journalist Andrew Pierce and The Mirror's Associate Editor Kevin Maguire, where he said: "I don't think Nigel Farage is very used to answering questions about his policies".

The presenter's comment was met with laughter from Kevin, who said: "Nigel Farage would get a much bigger tax cut under his plans than his chauffeur." "And he doesn't want that exposed.. What he uses and loves is that he can go on a panel like Question Time, you can have your shout and nobody gets interrogated.

"Most of them try and hide their irritation when they can't answer questions. Because if you do, you expose a fundamental truth are attempting to conceal every time they say: let's be clear. He didn't like the fact that he was being questioned."

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