About James

James was elected Labour and Co-operative MP for Ealing North in December 2019. Since being elected he has served as a member of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee and an Opposition Whip, and he is currently the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

Before becoming an MP, James Murray was the Deputy Mayor for Housing at City Hall, where he oversaw the Mayor’s £4.8 billion affordable homes programme. This included ‘Building Council Homes for Londoners’ – the first-ever City Hall initiative dedicated to building new council homes – which saw more council homes being built in London than in any time for the last 30 years.

Before joining City Hall, James was a councillor in Islington for 10 years. As Executive Member for Housing and Development for his last six years there, he led the fight across London against the Conservatives’ plans to raise ‘affordable rents’ to near-market level, and he introduced a new approach requiring developers to deliver more affordable homes.

James grew up in Ealing with his brother and mum who was a Labour Councillor in Cleveland from 2014-18.