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) The precise colour of palatinate purple used by the University varies a good deal. Its most long-established usage is in the University's academic dress and sporting colours, both of which use a significantly paler shade than that used by the university for corporate purposes. The palatinate purple used for the academic robes is said by Shaw (1966) to be British Colour Council No. 177 "Crocus" from the second (1951) edition of the "Dictionary of Colour Standards". The shade of purple used by Durham University in its corporate branding, as of 2017, is: Pantone number 255C; CMYK: 51, 91, 0, 34;