MPs’ business costs

James Murray

IPSA paid £1,344,471 against 591 published rows for James Murray between 2019-20 and 2025-26 as the member for Ealing North 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, 2021-22

82 claims, £229,901 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.	6	£206,766	89.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	76	£23,134	10.1%

Every year in the register

James Murray’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2019-20 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
2019-20	62	£41,956	£11,706	—	£53,662
2020-21	79	£198,433	£10,871	—	£209,304
2021-22	82	£206,766	£23,134	—	£229,901
2022-23	99	£234,661	£29,598	—	£264,259
2023-24	112	£246,865	£29,075	£82	£276,021
2024-25	85	£256,756	£36,410	£49	£293,216
2025-26	72	—	£18,108	—	£18,108

A year in which James Murray 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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£199,966
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,200
Bought-in services	4	£2,600

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£7,924
Moving Fees	1	£3,561
Advertising and contact cards	11	£2,005
Equipment - purchase	13	£1,944
Working From Home Allowance	1	£1,760
Stationery & printing	27	£1,582

Largest claims, 2021-22

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 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£199,966	£199,966
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£7,924	£7,924
27 April 2021	Staffing	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,200	£4,200
5 August 2021	Office Costs	Moving Fees	Legal costs	£3,561	£3,561
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£1,760	£1,760
12 October 2021	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	Signage for new constituency office	£1,543	£1,543
19 October 2021	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	electrical work and maintenance including installation of sockets, trunking and connections	£774	£774
9 August 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£722	£722
28 February 2022	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£650	£650
30 January 2022	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£650	£650
30 December 2021	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£650	£650
30 November 2021	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£650	£650
15 December 2021	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600
14 January 2022	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Banner January 2022	£581	£581
30 September 2021	Office Costs	Cleaning services	Deep clean of new constituency office	£480	£480

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 James Murray 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 · James Murray’s register of interests and votes · Sources