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, 2018-19

131 claims, £192,005 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.	8	£139,187	72.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	103	£20,149	10.5%
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.	19	£21,088	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.	1	£11,582	6.0%

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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£132,393
Professional Services (Staff.)	6	£3,700
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£3,094

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£8,700
Professional Services	9	£5,300
Stationery Purchase	9	£1,888
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	31	£1,230
Const Office Gas	12	£644
Const Office Electricity	13	£547

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£19,500
Council Tax	2	£1,058
Water	1	£271
Electricity	4	£260

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£11,582

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	£132,393	£132,393
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£11,582	£11,582
23 April 2018	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£3,094	£3,094
26 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
29 January 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
19 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
22 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
24 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
25 September 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
25 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
25 July 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
29 June 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
29 May 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
25 April 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
1 April 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625

Claims refused and money repaid, 2018-19

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £500 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