MPs’ business costs

Ms Diane Abbott

IPSA paid £2,800,548 against 893 published rows for Ms Diane Abbott between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington BC. These are the costs of running an office and employing staff under IPSA’s rules. They are not salary, and the largest part of them is wages IPSA pays to the member’s employees rather than money the member receives.

By category, 2018-19

72 claims, £191,519 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

Category	What it covers	Claims	Paid	Share
Staffing	The salaries and employment costs of the people an MP employs to run their office and casework. IPSA pays these directly; they are not money an MP receives.	1	£164,320	85.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	71	£27,198	14.2%

Every year in the register

Ms Diane Abbott’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 and the last is 2025-26. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, so a rise between two distant years is partly a rise in prices. Select a year to read it on its own.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Travel	Total
2010-11	39	£96,699	£7,745	—	£104,444
2011-12	59	£106,435	£12,898	—	£119,333
2012-13	81	£139,585	£22,891	£868	£163,344
2013-14	48	£135,198	£8,099	£379	£143,676
2014-15	32	£144,154	£14,876	—	£159,031
2015-16	50	£146,259	£21,506	£1,005	£168,769
2016-17	74	£148,500	£25,288	£857	£174,645
2017-18	157	£161,646	£26,850	£160	£188,656
2018-19	72	£164,320	£27,198	—	£191,519
2019-20	87	£158,805	£8,400	£730	£167,934
2020-21	35	£197,268	£20,766	—	£218,035
2021-22	33	£217,844	£8,279	£58	£226,181
2022-23	41	£235,190	£9,459	—	£244,649
2023-24	34	£244,270	£11,595	—	£255,865
2024-25	41	£261,250	£10,312	—	£271,562
2025-26	10	—	£2,906	—	£2,906

A year in which Ms Diane Abbott joined or left the House part-way through is a part year, and is not comparable with a full one.

What each category is made of, 2018-19

The cost types IPSA records inside each heading, largest first by what it paid.

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£164,320

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Professional Services	12	£14,805
Stationery Purchase	11	£5,479
Training MP Staff	2	£1,752
Computer SW Purchase	14	£1,544
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	12	£1,361
Other Equip Purchase	6	£908

Largest claims, 2018-19

The 15 rows IPSA paid most against, with IPSA’s own description of each. Read the description before the amount: IPSA publishes most of a member’s staffing as one row for the whole year — “Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the ⟨year⟩ year” — so the largest row here is usually a year of wages for the member’s employees and not something bought.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£164,320	£164,320
4 July 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£2,624	£2,624
24 May 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for research	£2,528	£2,528
27 July 2018	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	Training, software, equipment	£2,451	£2,451
18 July 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees due for research, writing	£1,888	£1,888
18 June 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for research	£1,888	£1,888
22 May 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£1,442	£1,442
24 April 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for research	£1,280	£1,280
5 November 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for writing, research	£928	£928
1 October 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for writing, research	£928	£928
3 September 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for writing, research	£928	£928
3 August 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for writing,research	£928	£928
4 July 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees due for writing, research	£928	£928
4 June 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees due for writing, research	£928	£928
2 May 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Fees for writing and research	£928	£928

What this page does not show

Whether any of it was justified. IPSA accepted these claims under its own rules and the register records what was paid, not whether it should have been. A large total is not a finding about the member.

Nor how Ms Diane Abbott compares with another member. After staffing the largest headings are accommodation and travel, and both are decided mostly by where a constituency is: a member several hundred miles from Westminster is eligible for costs a member with a London seat is not. Two members’ totals are two sets of rules as much as two sets of choices, and the length of service differs too.

It is also not pay. IPSA sets and publishes MPs’ salaries separately and they are not in this register; the staffing figure here is the salaries of the member’s employees.

All MPs’ business costs · Ms Diane Abbott’s register of interests and votes · Sources