MPs’ business costs

Esther McVey

IPSA paid £2,524,825 against 1,913 published rows for Esther McVey between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Tatton CC, then Wirral West CC. 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, 2010-11 to 2025-26

1,913 claims, £2,524,825 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.	63	£1,806,594	71.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	1,497	£266,564	10.6%
Accommodation	The cost of somewhere to stay for an MP whose constituency is far enough from Westminster that IPSA's rules allow it. An MP representing a London seat is not eligible on the same terms.	247	£278,842	11.0%
Travel	Journeys between the constituency and Westminster and within the constituency. Until 2018-19 IPSA published one travel category; from 2019-20 it publishes travel by the MP, by staff and by a dependant separately.	44	£135,820	5.4%
Starting up and winding up	The one-off costs of opening an office on election and of closing one on leaving. These fall in the years around a general election and are absent from the rest.	54	£36,213	1.4%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	8	£792	0.0%

Every year in the register

Esther McVey’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	Accommodation	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	83	£74,456	£9,773	£15,606	£5,483	—	—	£105,317
2011-12	127	£102,378	£18,990	£19,590	£7,890	—	—	£148,849
2012-13	134	£128,277	£17,851	£20,000	£7,715	—	—	£173,842
2013-14	137	£101,824	£15,343	£20,055	£10,368	—	—	£147,591
2014-15	168	£117,729	£22,087	£18,856	£9,772	—	—	£168,444
2015-16	75	£11,172	£611	£4,875	£1,141	£36,213	£792	£54,804
2017-18	126	£123,171	£21,246	£13,863	£7,686	—	—	£165,966
2018-19	131	£139,187	£20,149	£21,088	£11,582	—	—	£192,005
2019-20	123	£121,011	£15,059	£20,301	£11,276	—	—	£167,647
2020-21	114	£145,793	£16,894	£18,586	£6,785	—	—	£188,058
2021-22	107	£150,936	£18,984	£20,581	£14,686	—	—	£205,188
2022-23	146	£167,430	£19,240	£20,357	£11,084	—	—	£218,112
2023-24	177	£190,206	£23,039	£21,194	£12,814	—	—	£247,254
2024-25	160	£231,275	£29,975	£18,187	£17,539	—	—	£296,976
2025-26	105	£1,749	£17,321	£25,703	—	—	—	£44,774

A year in which Esther McVey 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, 2010-11 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	14	£1,740,346
Professional Services (Staff.)	25	£23,825
Pooled staffing services	7	£19,856
Pooled Services: Direct	4	£8,959
Pooled Staffing Services	2	£4,490
Pooled Services	1	£3,960

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	59	£57,727
Const Office Rent	76	£35,597
Stationery Purchase	141	£25,064
Stationery & printing	130	£21,706
Utilities	194	£12,297
Professional Services	23	£10,609

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	89	£126,455
Rent	49	£101,502
Hotel - London	18	£38,174
Council Tax	8	£3,747
Utilities	29	£2,788
Council tax	4	£2,444

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	17	£70,878
Aggregated Travel Costs	8	£61,636
Hotel - UK Not London	4	£848
Taxi	5	£838
Mileage - car	4	£829
Hotel - London	3	£715

Starting up and winding up

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£33,326
Office Rent	2	£905
Travel Costs	36	£705
Office Postage/Stationery/Tel	10	£679
Office Miscellaneous	3	£351
Office Shredding/Removing Data	2	£246

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accom Rent (Wind. Up)	1	£427
Council Tax (Wind. Up)	2	£132
Accom Tel Usg/Rent (Wind. Up)	2	£86
Accom Electricity (Wind. Up)	1	£79
Accom Water (Wind. Up)	2	£67

Largest claims, 2010-11 to 2025-26

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 2025	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year	£226,555	£226,555
31 March 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£186,706	£186,706
31 March 2023	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year	£164,134	£164,134
31 March 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£147,944	£147,944
31 March 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£142,746	£142,746
31 March 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£132,393	£132,393
31 March 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£120,067	£120,067
31 March 2020	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year	£115,878	£115,878
31 March 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£115,328	£115,328
31 March 2015	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2014-15 year	£112,104	£112,104
31 March 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£97,978	£97,978
31 March 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£97,864	£97,864
31 March 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£69,476	£69,476
31 March 2016	Winding Up	Payroll	Total payroll costs from the Winding Up budget for the 2015-16 year	£33,326	£33,326
31 March 2022	Accommodation	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£19,478	£19,478

Claims refused and money repaid, 2010-11 to 2025-26

18 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £36 not paid and £2,598 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Esther McVey 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 · Esther McVey’s register of interests and votes · Sources