Sir Keir Starmer couldn’t hide his smile as he performed a viral social media dance with school children just days before his Chancellor pummels Britain with her nightmare Budget.
The grinning Prime Minister executed the 6-7 trend alongside pupils at Welland Academy as he visited to meet youngsters who receive free meals.
The Labour leader was accompanied by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson as he toured the Peterborough school ahead of Wednesday’s Budget.
Starmer, who in recent days has faced a vicious internal Labour briefing war that has raised questions about his future, delighted a classroom of year two children by doing the viral dance.
The rest of the class quickly followed his lead, waving their hands up and down.
The trend, where children nonsensically chant ‘6-7’ as they flail their hands about, has infuriated teachers across the country.
The Prime Minister was swiftly reminded by the headteacher that ‘children get into trouble for saying that at my school’.
Starmer is unlikely to be in similarly high spirits on Wednesday when Chancellor Rachel Reeves batters the country with her second Budget.
Ms Reeves is expected to introduce a string of new tax hikes despite pledging not to raise taxes or borrowing.
Sir Keir Starmer couldn’t hide his smile as he performed a viral social media dance with school children
The grinning Prime Minister executed the 6-7 trend alongside pupils at Welland Academy
The Chancellor’s preparations for her latest fiscal package have been branded a ‘shambles’ by economists.
When Ms Reeves finally delivers her Budget, she will end months of rumours and briefings about possible new levies.
The uncertainty caused by the speculation is judged to have choked off economic growth, by causing ‘paralysis’ among UK businesses and consumers.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has even mocked the ‘hokey cokey’ Budget process, following Ms Reeves’ chaotic U-turn on income tax.
At the beginning of this month, the Chancellor laid the groundwork for a manifesto-busting hike to income tax rates.
But she was later revealed to have scrapped plans to increase income tax rates by 2p, while cutting National Insurance by the same amount.
She is instead expected to announce a ‘smorgasbord’ of other levy hikes as she scrambles to fill a multi-billion pound hole in the public finances.
These could include a mansion tax, a freeze on income tax thresholds, a raid on workplace pensions and a pay-per-mile tax for electric cars among other measures.
Scrapping the two-child benefit cap, a cut to the ISA limit, a taxi tax and a milkshake tax are also being touted alongside new gambling taxes and minimum wage rises.
