James Murray was born on 13 July 1983 in Hammersmith. His mother Lynne was a Labour councillor for Cleveland ward in Ealing from 2014 to 2018.[1] He grew up in West Ealing, attending a private school, before studying PPE at Wadham College, Oxford.[2][3][4] Murray graduated with a BA First Class degree in 2004.[5]
Political career
Murray served as a councillor in Islington from 2006 to 2016,[6] representing Barnsbury ward.[7] He was the borough's Executive Member for Housing and Development from 2010 to 2016.[5] In this role, Inside Housing reported that he "proved himself to be a tough negotiator who knows what he wants".[8]
He advised Sadiq Khan during his successful selection and election campaigns to become Mayor of London,[9] and was appointed by Khan as London's Deputy Mayor for Housing in 2016.[9]
As Deputy Mayor, Murray championed a new 'fast track' approach to affordable housing requirements for development in London.[10] The new approach encouraged developers to offer more affordable homes upfront in exchange for dropping complex viability negotiations.[11] It boosted affordable housing provision and won backing from many in the property industry for speeding up the process.[12][13]
Murray also oversaw the Mayor's £4.8bn affordable homes investment programme. He developed the first-ever City Hall initiative dedicated to building council homes, Building Council Homes for Londoners,[9] which raised council homebuilding to its highest level in 34 years.[14]
Parliamentary career
At the 2019 general election, Murray was elected to Parliament as MP for Ealing North with 56.5% of the vote and a majority of 12,269.[15][16] He gave his maiden speech in January 2020.[17] He became a member of the Health and Social Care Committee in March 2020[18] and was appointed to the Opposition Whips' Office in April 2020.[19]
As Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, he has led for the Opposition on legislation including several finance bills, and bills affecting stamp duty and National Insurance Contributions.[20]
Murray was re-elected as MP for Ealing North at the 2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 47.8% and an increased majority of 12,489.[21]
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