MPs’ business costs

Ian Murray

IPSA paid £3,085,870 against 2,424 published rows for Ian Murray between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Edinburgh South 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, 2025-26

78 claims, £27,139 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
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	62	£20,744	76.4%
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.	16	£6,394	23.6%

Every year in the register

Ian Murray’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	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	161	£83,066	£25,023	£17,834	£10,209	—	£136,132
2011-12	179	£117,449	£25,871	£19,889	£11,009	—	£174,217
2012-13	151	£125,038	£26,950	£19,375	£12,112	—	£183,476
2013-14	143	£129,454	£27,218	£21,515	£10,933	£62	£189,182
2014-15	162	£127,572	£25,790	£19,254	£8,710	—	£181,327
2015-16	133	£116,302	£22,916	£17,740	£10,777	—	£167,735
2016-17	150	£143,284	£23,608	£20,230	£12,557	—	£199,679
2017-18	150	£141,302	£24,149	£21,372	£12,447	—	£199,271
2018-19	140	£151,815	£24,499	£20,525	£12,612	—	£209,451
2019-20	169	£154,169	£24,439	£19,700	£12,656	—	£210,965
2020-21	132	£163,516	£23,274	£13,809	£2,738	—	£203,337
2021-22	173	£179,766	£28,850	£10,206	£10,028	—	£228,849
2022-23	172	£180,592	£25,248	£5,959	£17,726	—	£229,525
2023-24	177	£214,146	£28,988	£5,282	£17,583	—	£265,999
2024-25	154	£231,218	£29,822	£5,027	£13,519	—	£279,586
2025-26	78	—	£20,744	£6,394	—	—	£27,139

A year in which Ian 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, 2025-26

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

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Advertising and contact cards	4	£3,783
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	5	£3,709
Stationery & printing	17	£2,963
Postage & couriers	1	£2,708
Utilities	14	£2,049
Software & applications	5	£1,742

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Utilities	14	£3,197
Council tax	1	£2,822
Insurance - buildings	1	£375

Largest claims, 2025-26

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
7 April 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	Council Tax for year 25/26	£2,822	£2,822
9 February 2026	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	delivery by Royal Mail of 36,000 IPSA approved MP reports	£2,708	£2,708
6 February 2026	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	AGA PRINT LTD	£2,623	£2,623
27 March 2026	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	repair and maintenance of electrics and wiring (50%)	£2,136	£2,136
25 June 2025	Office Costs	Software & applications	Annual software licence for caseworker system	£1,476	£1,476
17 July 2025	Office Costs	Insurance - buildings	buildings insurance for constituency office at 31 Minto Street	£1,206	£1,206
4 December 2025	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Repairs in Constituency Office	£983	£983
1 February 2026	Accommodation	Utilities	Water	£715	£715
7 April 2025	Accommodation	Utilities	Water	£692	£692
1 December 2025	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	annual suregyery advertising with Edinburgh Reporter	£500	£500
19 September 2025	Office Costs	Insurance - contents	ERMG Office Insurance	£473	£473
12 December 2025	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	Advert Morningside and Bruntsfield guide	£420	£420
13 August 2025	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Replacement boiler in constituency office due to leak	£390	£390
21 December 2025	Accommodation	Insurance - buildings	annual buildings insurance	£375	£375
1 October 2025	Office Costs	Utilities	Electricity	£323	£323

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