MPs’ business costs

Jim McMahon

IPSA paid £1,966,687 against 999 published rows for Jim McMahon between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Oldham West and Royton BC, then Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton 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, 2017-18

94 claims, £207,050 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.	2	£150,803	72.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	61	£20,386	9.8%
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.	29	£29,475	14.2%
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	£6,135	3.0%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£250	0.1%

Every year in the register

Jim McMahon’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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
2015-16	53	£43,931	£4,170	£5,965	£2,915	£1,828	—	£58,809
2016-17	98	£132,253	£21,003	£23,055	£9,601	£1,614	—	£187,525
2017-18	94	£150,803	£20,386	£29,475	£6,135	—	£250	£207,050
2018-19	72	£142,320	£19,063	£31,123	£8,743	—	—	£201,247
2019-20	101	£151,197	£17,483	£26,618	£6,041	—	—	£201,339
2020-21	120	£144,746	£22,345	£29,242	£3,139	—	£1,191	£200,663
2021-22	83	£145,123	£19,294	£28,538	£4,811	—	£546	£198,313
2022-23	86	£159,779	£8,734	£28,593	£5,401	—	—	£202,507
2023-24	136	£183,057	£22,766	£17,491	£9,086	—	£1,240	£233,640
2024-25	113	£212,726	£19,440	£25,514	£7,772	—	—	£265,452
2025-26	43	£511	£5,507	£2,654	—	—	£1,469	£10,141

A year in which Jim McMahon 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£150,704
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£99

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£11,280
Stationery Purchase	20	£4,233
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	4	£1,469
Training MP Staff	2	£1,003
Other Equip Purchase	4	£823
Computer SW Purchase	3	£546

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	15	£25,888
Council Tax	4	£1,309
Electricity	2	£1,071
Ground Rent	2	£867
Internet	4	£162
Service Charges	1	£138

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,135

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£250

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£150,704	£150,704
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£6,135	£6,135
21 January 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
21 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
4 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
3 October 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
6 September 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
2 August 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
14 July 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[*] [*] for accomm rent	£2,383	£2,383
7 November 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,833	£1,833
5 July 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,777	£1,777
5 June 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,777	£1,777
4 May 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,777	£1,777
5 April 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,777	£1,777
11 April 2017	Accommodation	Council Tax	Reconcilliation of card	£1,443	£1,443

Claims refused and money repaid, 2017-18

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £85 not paid and £0 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 Jim McMahon 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 · Jim McMahon’s register of interests and votes · Sources