MPs’ business costs

John McDonnell

IPSA paid £2,761,424 against 982 published rows for John McDonnell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Hayes and Harlington 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 to 2025-26

982 claims, £2,761,424 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.	27	£2,442,554	88.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	947	£315,852	11.4%
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.	8	£3,018	0.1%

Every year in the register

John McDonnell’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	41	£89,614	£14,555	£619	£104,788
2011-12	68	£108,565	£22,204	£600	£131,369
2012-13	71	£114,830	£17,124	£980	£132,935
2013-14	52	£138,629	£20,119	£382	£159,131
2014-15	69	£144,701	£18,255	—	£162,955
2015-16	60	£145,211	£16,788	£150	£162,149
2016-17	64	£144,604	£17,909	—	£162,513
2017-18	56	£143,563	£14,988	£115	£158,667
2018-19	61	£142,721	£18,825	£67	£161,613
2019-20	69	£147,518	£17,054	£104	£164,676
2020-21	78	£197,236	£24,162	—	£221,397
2021-22	60	£213,967	£28,512	—	£242,480
2022-23	67	£225,359	£22,764	—	£248,124
2023-24	84	£247,788	£27,499	—	£275,287
2024-25	61	£238,247	£30,701	—	£268,948
2025-26	21	—	£4,392	—	£4,392

A year in which John McDonnell 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 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	15	£2,413,354
Bought-in services	8	£13,000
Pooled staffing services	2	£10,000
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£5,000
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£1,200

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£69,577
Rent	6	£61,648
Bought-in services	16	£37,875
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	168	£18,314
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	130	£14,580
Stationery Purchase	59	£12,925

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	7	£2,913
Railcard	1	£104

Largest claims, 2010-11 to 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
31 March 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£240,288	£240,288
31 March 2025	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year	£230,997	£230,997
31 March 2023	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year	£222,859	£222,859
31 March 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£209,217	£209,217
31 March 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£196,236	£196,236
31 March 2020	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year	£147,518	£147,518
31 March 2015	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2014-15 year	£144,701	£144,701
31 March 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£144,011	£144,011
31 March 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£143,563	£143,563
31 March 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£142,721	£142,721
31 March 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£139,604	£139,604
31 March 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£138,629	£138,629
31 March 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£114,830	£114,830
31 March 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£108,565	£108,565
31 March 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£89,614	£89,614

Claims refused and money repaid, 2010-11 to 2025-26

13 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £3,387 not paid and £33 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 John McDonnell 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 · John McDonnell’s register of interests and votes · Sources