A JEREMY Corbyn-led administration would cause “chaos” and the Conservatives will target Labour heartland to snuff out the danger.

That was the message today from Chancellor Philip Hammond, who refused to rule out attacking Labour’s North-East stronghold.

Mr Hammond said a victory for Labour would damage Britain, its economy and the ongoing EU negotiations, adding the Conservatives hope to build on the momentum of Ben Houchen’s victory in last week’s Tees Valley mayoral election.

Speaking to The Northern Echo during a visit to Darlington marine engineer company Subsea Innovation, Mr Hammond said he believed voters were beginning to look beyond traditional views on the rival parties.

Asked about the key target Darlington seat, which the Conservatives last held with Michael Fallon in the early 1990s and which has latterly been with Labour’s Jenny Chapman, Mr Hammond said his party was confident of attracting greater support.

He said: “We are targeting the whole country; we are a whole-of-the-UK party.

“We have got a simple message, which is about the need for strong and stable leadership to lock in the economic gains that we have made over the last few years.

“Nowhere can you see those more clearly than in the North-East.

“We need the British people to understand the choice they will face.

“Is it Theresa May leading a strong Government or it is Jeremy Corbyn going back to the chaos of the 1970s and a coalition Government?

“Undoubtedly, the latter won’t be strong or stable and not a platform for negotiating a good deal with the EU and not a platform for locking in the gains we’ve made in the economy.

“Rather from what we’ve heard over the last few days, (it would also mean) people who would favour experimentation with economic models we thought we had put to bed many years ago.”

Although he wouldn’t be drawn on specific seats, Mr Hammond said the changing political landscape in the North-East represented a good opportunity to make significant gains and add to the party’s anticipated ongoing presence in Stockton South, where James Wharton has sat most recently as MP.

He added: “We take nothing for granted.

“But Britain is changing, the economy is changing and in an area like the North-East you have seen enormous changes over the last 15 to 20 years.

“As the economy changes and the type of work people are doing changes and people see their prospects changing, they will think again about the type of Government they need to protect their families, their interests and the businesses they work in.

“What they need isn’t necessarily the same as what they might have thought they needed ten, 20, 30, 40 years.

“That gives us an opportunity.”