Labour politician-turned-breakfast TV presenter Ed Balls has infuriated swathes of ITV viewers thanks to his conduct on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain.
Ahead of the local council elections that are taking place up and down the country on Thursday, Balls and his Good Morning Britain co-star Susanna Reid welcomed Deputy Leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, onto the show.
Reform UK candidates are standing for election in councils across the nation, with 128 council seats belonging to Nigel Farage's party.
And there is reason for Reform UK to be optimistic, with a YouGov poll recently placing the party ahead of the Conservatives and Labour if a General Election for MPs was called tomorrow.
Balls and Reid put the poll's findings and the upcoming elections to Tice during Wednesday's GMB, but the manner in which the bulk of the interview was conducted left plenty to be desired for several viewers.
"At the weekend, [Conservative leader] Kemi Badenoch said something which I find really interesting," Balls said as he took the reins of the questioning at one point in the discussion.
ITV GMB: Ed Balls and Richard Tice locked horns in a fiery debate on Wednesday
ITV
"You have always been a politician who basically says the Tories have lost their way and we'll be a better version of the Conservative Party. She says, 'It's Coke versus Pepsi'. Very similar. Is that right? Are you effectively a better version of the Conservative Party?"
"No, it's not," Tice replied. "They had their chance, they made a load of promises to the country, and at every level -"
"I know, but we're talking about you," Balls interjected as Tice tried to continue: "They blew it. We're different in terms of our immigration policy, we're different in terms of our Net Zero policy, where we've got newfound fans like Sir Tony Blair agreeing with Reform UK, listening and learning to what we're saying about Met 'Stupid' Zero -"
It was then Reid's turn to interject to point out Blair would dispute this, to which Tice conceded he was teasing before continuing: "We disagree with the Tories on the nationalisation of British Steel so that we protect that strategic national asset. These are key fundamentals -"
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ITV GMB: Ed Balls and Susanna Reid grilled Richard Tice
ITV
Balls cut in: "That's really interesting to me what you just said there, because I thought of you as being a better conservative than the Conservatives. Not a Trumpian like [Nigel] Farage, but a conservative.
"But nationalising a British industry, that's what Labour did in the 1950s and 1970s," Balls added with a sarcastic tone, prompting Tice to answer: "We've been calling for British Steel to be properly invested in for six years!
"I said to the Tories, 'Don't sell it to the Chinese', they negligently ignored our advice, sold it to the Chinese and we are where we are... thanks to Nigel and I, we've saved British Steel and we need to now invest in it -"
"How much is that gonna cost?" Balls interrupted once more. Tice replied: "It's cheaper than the price compared to -"
ITV GMB: Richard Tice hit back at Balls' grilling
ITV
"No, how much is the cost?" Balls shouted again, to which Tice revealed he has an "expert advisor" working on the price - but Balls wasn't satisfied.
"And what's he told you on the cost?" he grilled before feigning shock: "You wouldn't come on our programme with uncosted policies the day before an election! That would be totally irresponsible! That's what the other parties did! What are your costed proposals?"
"My dear Ed," Tice said as he tried to get a word in, but Balls continued: "No, don't patronise me. What is your costed proposal to nationalise British Steel?"
Tice reiterated it would "be great value" but didn't have the cemented plans to hand, but Balls wasn't to be deterred.
'Is this about a national campaign on immigration or is this on local issues?' @susannareid100 asks Deputy Leader of Reform UK, @TiceRichard. pic.twitter.com/sat9IjKeBE
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 30, 2025
He grilled: "But how much will it cost?! Do you not know the cost of a policy? You can't run an election on a policy and not know the cost and say you're different from the other guys, that's what bad politicians did!"
Tice insisted once again that the wheels were in motion to put a fully costed plan together, but Balls refused to budge.
"Tell our viewers! They want to vote for you tomorrow!" Balls yelled, which led Tice to defiantly hit back: "They want to hear someone who is consistent!
"Who has always said, 'Don't sell British steel to the Chinese, invest in it, invest in those blast furnaces.' We're the only ones who want to invest in those blast furnaces. It will be great value for the taxpayer and the country."
Balls' condescending tone returned as he cut in again: "The thing is, see, if you're in opposition, if you're a protest party, you can say what you like... but grown-up politicians who want to be in government have costed proposals and say where the money will come from."
Tice hit back: "What voters want is successful business people who come into politics, who get stuff done, who audit things, who tell the truth about the failure of finances at national and council level, and then say these are the things we need to invest in, these are things we need to protect and grow with a 20-30 year view."
Balls continued his incessant search for a costed figure, prompting Tice to encourage "patience" and that there would be a "time and a place" for the costed plans to be released.
When Tice geared the conversation towards Reform's immigration policy, something he heard "door to door" during his party's campaigning across the UK, Reid accused him of sending mixed signals.
ITV GMB: Richard Tice was put on the spot about Reform UK's funding plans
ITV
Reid quizzed Tice on whether council elections should be based on "national" issues such as immigration, or "local" issues.
When she accused Tice of refusing to answer Balls' steel probe because it was a "national issue", Tice stood firm by insisting immigration and steel affect people locally.
But Balls continued to talk over the Reform Deputy Leader, goading him with jibes about "not answering" his questions.
During and after the interview, social media became awash with viewers voicing their reactions to the rather chaotic scenes that unfolded.
Directly responding to the GMB X account, one fan took aim at the fact that Balls regularly fronts the show when his wife and Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, appears for interviews - and the discussions are markedly different from those of Tice's
"He is basically campaigning for his wife and Labour, it's a disgrace he is allowed to do this. Absolutely must breech standards," they fumed.
Nigel Farage is the leader of Reform UK
X/ Nigel Farage"It’s a shame you don’t question Yvette Cooper with this same vigour…," a second similarly put before a third applauded Tice: "Well done Richard. Ed tried to railroad you, but you stuck to your guns."
A fourth blasted the GMB host further: "What a predictable interview, Ed 'red face' Balls talking over Tice not willing to listen to his answers but when his wife was on yesterday’s program not a single question from him, terrible ITV."
And another threatened action: "Absolute disgrace how this interview went. It’s a disgrace that Mr Balls doesn’t interview with such vigorous questioning of all the other parties. Ofcom complaint coming."
However, others applauded Balls for not letting Tice escape without providing a figure when it came to his steel policy.
"Well done Ed for challenging Tice on costing…finally someone having a go at it…" one viewer typed on X while a second Tice critic weighed in: "Reform are even worse then the Tories!!!" (sic)
Balls and Reid were later joined on the show by Labour's Environment Secretary Steve Reed, where things also got relatively heated.
However, the bulk of the interview was conducted by Reid, who grilled the MP on the lack of punishment for fly-tippers up and down the country,
Balls did contribute, asking about Labour's response to Blair's aforementioned criticism of Net Zero before bidding Reed farewell.
