GMB’s Susanna Reid Slams Labour MP with Savage One-Liner Over Party’s ‘Failure’

Things got a little tense on Good Morning Britain as Susanna Reid gave Labour MP Matthew Pennycook a proper grilling over the party’s big housing pledge — and let’s just say, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for him, according to the Express.

Live on ITV, Reid didn’t waste time getting straight to the point. Labour’s ambitious promise to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the next Parliament was on the table, and she wasn’t about to let vague talk slide. With a razor-sharp tone, she asked, “And that’s realistic? We can judge you on that the next general election, you can guarantee one and a half million homes will be built by 2030.”

It was the kind of moment that makes morning telly unexpectedly spicy — you could almost see Pennycook squirm. In response, he tried to shift the focus to the mess Labour says they’ve inherited, pointing fingers at the last government for the housing crisis. “We inherited a dire situation on taking off. We understand the previous situation. We’ve got to turn things around,” he said, with the sort of weary determination we’ve come to expect from ministers defending big promises.

Still, Reid wasn’t having it easy. She kept pressing, clearly not convinced the numbers would magically appear. Pennycook doubled down, saying: “We’ve got a very clear target to build one and a half million safe and decent homes by the end of this Parliament.” But when asked if that number was truly guaranteed, he got a bit more cautious — not quite a backtrack, but definitely not a firm yes either.

“Let’s be clear, Susanna, we know the scale of the challenge that involves,” he said, clearly aware the public wouldn’t just take a hopeful tone as gospel. “We know all the pitfalls we’ve got to overcome… we could have picked a far easier target. We could have picked a million homes like the previous government did, but that would not be commensurate with the scale of the housing crisis we face in this country.”

It’s a bold move from Labour — setting the bar higher than the previous government and banking on voters backing them for aiming big. But Reid’s line of questioning struck a nerve that a lot of viewers will likely relate to: promises are great, but people want delivery, not just debate.

As things stand, Labour’s pledge is out there — 1.5 million homes by 2030 — and Susanna Reid made sure the message was loud and clear: if they don’t hit it, voters will remember.