HUNDREDS of Treasury jobs could be moved to the north – with Teesside being mentioned as a potential location – as part of a new working hub.

Richmond MP and newly-appointed Chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to be preparing to announce that parts of the Treasury will be moved to a location in the north of England.

He is expected to use his first Budget to announce that a significant number of the 1,500 jobs at the department will be transferred.

The move will be seen as a bid to show northern voters who defected to the Tories from Labour in the last general election that the Conservatives are working in their favour.

The Budget on March 11 was billed by the Sunday Times as the “biggest spending giveaway” since 2001.

A Treasury source said: “The Chancellor wants to put the Treasury at the heart of the levelling-up agenda and wants to rethink how we make decisions that affect the whole of the UK.

“He wants to shift the gravity of economic decision away from the capital to our regions and nations – and setting up a new economic decision-making campus in the north of England will do that.

“It will be key in helping spread opportunity and prosperity to all, and allow the Treasury to access a more diverse range of talent, making it more reflective of the country as a whole.”

Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused the Conservatives of stealing his policy.

“Will these Tories ever come up with something original? I committed moving a large section of the Treasury to the north a year ago,” the MP said.

“If they’re going to plagiarise they could have the decency of properly attributing the idea to Labour.”

Mr Sunak succeed Sajid Javid at the top of the Treasury in Boris Johnson’s recent reshuffle.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “It is fantastic to have Rishi as Chancellor and to have a Northern voice right at the heart of government fighting for our region and putting our interests at the front of the queue.

“Discussions are ongoing with government over funding for lots of projects that will really benefit the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

“These include plans to transform Darlington Station, a new Tees crossing, and the world’s biggest hydrogen refuelling station right here in our region – making us a global leader in clean energy and growth.

“We’re making great progress locally. We’ve put the building blocks in place to really make a difference.

“From the airport to the steelworks, we’re off to a great start, so if Boris Johnson wants to repay those voters in my region who backed him in the General Election and helped elect all the new Tory MPs across the North, then backing these projects would be the perfect way to do so.”

Labour MP for Stockton South Alex Cunningham said: “I would certainly welcome any civil service jobs coming to the North particularly Teesside and will wait and see if there is any real substance to the chancellor’s announcement – or just another empty promise in a news release.

“The Tory governments of the last ten years have done the exact opposite – stripping several hundred HMRC, public lending rights service and DLVA jobs from our area.

“Maybe the Chancellor can start by halting the government’s plans to transfer hundreds of existing jobs at HMRC which have been seeping away from Teesside.”