Following Rishi Sunak’s Sunday announcement that he intends to move 20% of the Treasury out of London, Guido understands the new Chancellor’s personal top spot for the new campus is Teesside. His own back garden…

The rumours of such a move by the chancellor have been swirling for a while, and the appointment of Sunak – a North Yorkshire MP – sent them into overdrive. Guido now learns that over the last few days the Chancellor has been privately assuring local officials that Teesside remains his top option, with one source confidently stating, “he wants to bring it to Teesside.”

One minister confirmed to Guido that Teesside is a “very reasonable guess” and that Rishi “gets the Teesside Tory narrative”. It is not yet known whether the Chancellor will declare the new campus location in this week’s Budget, or will set out a shortlist for further consultation – however intent he is on ultimately picking Middlesbrough. It would be great PR for the Tories with only two months to go until the Tees Valley mayoral elections…