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, 2010-11

39 claims, £104,444 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	£96,699	92.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	38	£7,745	7.4%

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, 2010-11

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£96,699

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery Purchase	20	£3,477
Printer Purchase	2	£866
Recruitment Services	1	£842
Shredder Purchase	2	£771
Website - Hosting	1	£353
Computer SW Purchase	1	£350

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£96,699	£96,699
28 January 2011	Office Costs	Recruitment Services	GA 01/2011	£842	£842
2 December 2010	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2010.11 ga expenses	£765	£765
22 June 2010	Office Costs	Printer Purchase	Printer equipment	£742	£742
2 December 2010	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2010.11 ga expenses	£632	£632
2 December 2010	Office Costs	Shredder Purchase	2010.11 ga expenses	£415	£415
20 December 2010	Office Costs	Shredder Purchase	ga expenses 12/2010	£356	£356
20 December 2010	Office Costs	Website - Hosting	ga expenses 12/2010	£353	£353
2 December 2010	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	2010.11 ga expenses	£350	£350
20 December 2010	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	ga expenses 12/2010	£305	£305
28 January 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	GA 01/2011	£294	£294
7 October 2010	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	viking stationery	£272	£272
2 December 2010	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2010.11 ga expenses	£259	£259
2 December 2010	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2010.11 ga expenses	£241	£241
29 July 2010	Office Costs	Venue Hire	—	£225	£225

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