MPs’ business costs

Emily Thornberry

IPSA paid £3,048,651 against 1,179 published rows for Emily Thornberry between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Islington South and Finsbury 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, 2023-24

128 claims, £286,673 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.	20	£252,957	88.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	107	£32,804	11.4%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£912	0.3%

Every year in the register

Emily Thornberry’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	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	24	£114,393	£22,987	—	—	£137,380
2011-12	95	£130,625	£29,629	—	—	£160,254
2012-13	96	£144,634	£28,646	—	—	£173,280
2013-14	118	£138,668	£30,812	—	—	£169,480
2014-15	62	£144,097	£24,727	£431	—	£169,255
2015-16	68	£146,744	£25,251	—	—	£171,994
2016-17	57	£147,176	£25,015	£256	—	£172,447
2017-18	45	£153,066	£26,732	—	—	£179,798
2018-19	39	£164,485	£23,545	£375	—	£188,406
2019-20	59	£159,471	£28,984	£370	—	£188,826
2020-21	52	£206,488	£28,509	—	—	£234,997
2021-22	24	£213,136	£23,102	—	£1,427	£237,665
2022-23	197	£237,321	£37,802	—	—	£275,123
2023-24	128	£252,957	£32,804	—	£912	£286,673
2024-25	77	£264,443	£30,286	£180	—	£294,909
2025-26	38	—	£8,165	—	—	£8,165

A year in which Emily Thornberry 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, 2023-24

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£252,765
Volunteer - agreed arrangement costs	19	£192

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	4	£23,856
Equipment - purchase	32	£1,686
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	8	£1,562
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	2	£1,393
Stationery & printing	23	£1,171
Waste disposal, confidential waste & rubbish collection	9	£976

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
IPSA RICS Valuation	1	£912

Largest claims, 2023-24

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 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£252,765	£252,765
2 April 2024	Office Costs	Rent	—	£5,964	£5,964
5 January 2024	Office Costs	Rent	—	£5,964	£5,964
3 October 2023	Office Costs	Rent	—	£5,964	£5,964
4 July 2023	Office Costs	Rent	—	£5,964	£5,964
23 February 2024	Miscellaneous	IPSA RICS Valuation	RICS valuation report Q3 and Q4 2023	£912	£912
19 March 2024	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Maintenance, repairs and cleaning	£700	£700
28 March 2023	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	J.B CARPETS (LONDON) L	£693	£693
19 June 2023	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£690	£690
29 March 2023	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£628	£628
6 November 2023	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Other office equipment	£364	£364
11 July 2023	Office Costs	Waste disposal, confidential waste & rubbish collection	PAPER ROUND LTD	£352	£352
18 January 2024	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£339	£339
3 November 2023	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£328	£328
7 February 2023	Office Costs	Waste disposal, confidential waste & rubbish collection	PAPER ROUND LTD	£244	£244

Claims refused and money repaid, 2023-24

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £43 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 Emily Thornberry 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 · Emily Thornberry’s register of interests and votes · Sources