Purple (government) Purple (government) Purple is a common term in politics for governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours. It is of particular note in two areas: in the politics of the Netherlands and Belgium and in the politics of the United States. "Purple" () is the nickname of a government coalition of social democrats and liberals, excluding Christian democrats. It is derived from the combination of the colour of the social democrats (red) and liberals (blue). Both the Netherlands and Belgium have had such governments. In the Netherlands the two cabinets
Palatinate (colour) him by Revd Charles Whitley, Reader in Natural Philosophy at the University 1833-1854: An account, written sometime between 1876 and 1896, of Van Mildert's ceremonial entry into County Durham upon his election as bishop in 1826, refers to him wearing "a coat and waistcoat of the Palatinate purple". The scabbard of the civic sword of the City of Durham is described as being "of purple velvet, the colour of the old palatine of Durham". In the mid-19th century, the University tailor referred to the colour used in the hoods as Palatinate Blue, despite it being "really a sort of purple".