As your Member of Parliament, my pay, staffing costs, and office costs are publicly funded.
These are regulated and administered by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) – an independent body separate from MPs. IPSA sets the rules on how funding can be used and publishes details of all MPs’ pay, staffing costs, and office costs every three months.
You can read IPSA’s rules here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/publications/the-scheme
You can see the latest publication of MPs’ pay, staffing costs, and office costs here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-business-costs.
In addition to this, to be as open and transparent as possible, I also provide a breakdown of my pay, staffing costs and office costs below.
Pay:
All MPs receive a fixed annual salary set by IPSA.
From 1 April 2025, the basic annual salary for MPs is £93,904.
As your MP, I do not hold any other paid jobs or receive a second income.
You can see full details about my pay here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-business-costs/your-mp/daisy-cooper/4769
Staffing Budget:
The staffing budget is largely made up of payroll costs, which are paid directly to the people I employ to help me carry out my work in Westminster and here in St Albans. The budget covers all payroll costs (staff salaries, employers’ national insurance contributions and pension contributions) as well as staff training costs.
I use my staffing budget to employ three people in St Albans, three people in Westminster (two full time and one part time).
You can see full details about my staffing budget here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-business-costs/your-mp/daisy-cooper/4769
Office Costs Budget:
The office costs budget is largely made up of office rental costs which are paid directly to the landlord of my St Albans office. This budget covers all office rental costs (ground rent, services, business rates, insurance, and telephone/internet bills).
I use my office costs budget to rent an office in St Albans and to provide the equipment my staff need to do their jobs.
You can see full details about my office costs budget here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-business-costs/your-mp/daisy-cooper/4769
Donations and Financial Interests:
In addition to the funding I receive from IPSA, I sometimes receive donations from organisations or individuals to support my party-political work. These donations are made to St Albans Liberal Democrats, who declare all reportable donations to the Electoral Commission.
In addition, in accordance with the requirements of the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, any such donations and other relevant financial interests are published here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/registers-of-interests/register-of-members-financial-interests/.