The Purple Papers Articles

On a few occasions, as Steve Van Riel notes in The Purple Papers, the Labour government did suggest people should pay more for better public services. When it was a rise in national insurance for the health service, this was largely popular. When it was a levy on...

As the senior economist at IPPR, I am one of providers of the ‘pages and pages of the most expert advice’ about the ‘easy-complicated’ choices that Steve Van Riel identifies in his chapter (at least I hope some of my advice is ‘expert’!). So it is good to be reminded...

‘What is the point of the Labour party when there is no money?’ ask the Purple Papers, whose focus is on smarter spending of public money alongside fairer taxation. Their suggestions on both are credible, but the Papers’ transactional view of government may thwart its...

The process of discussion and debate on the Purple Papers and The Purple Book that preceded it (of which this blog is part) is a welcome one. But in the sphere of economics, there is more to be gained from the essays that are ostensibly about other subjects than from...