In government

Purnell at the Policy Network Progressive Governance Conference 2009

In 2003, Purnell became Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Ruth Kelly in the Cabinet Office, and in December 2004 he joined the Government as a Whip in the government reshuffle following the resignation of David Blunkett.

After Labour was returned to power in the 2005 general election, he was appointed to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Creative Industries and Tourism in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where he was in charge of preparing the legislation that liberalised the alcohol licensing laws of England and Wales and created tax breaks for the film industry. In May 2006, he was promoted to be Minister of State for Pensions in the Department for Work and Pensions, replacing Stephen Timms.

In 2007, he was named Consumer Champion of the Year by Which? magazine for his work on pensions. Which? cited his "commitment to consumers in the development of the national pensions saving scheme", particularly for listening to stakeholders and for his contributions to the personal accounts for low and middle earners.^[9]

In June 2007, Purnell entered the Cabinet as the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; he was its youngest member. He was promoted to Work and Pensions Secretary after the resignation of Peter Hain on 24 January 2008.

Faked photograph

In September 2007 Tameside General Hospital inserted Purnell into a photograph, as part of a press release for a Private finance initiative (PFI) deal.^[10] Tameside Trust claimed that he agreed to the insertion^[11] being late for the original photo call, Purnell denied this. Tom Levitt, a Labour MP who was present for the photoshoot, stated that he and other MPs left a gap for Purnell when the photograph was taken, knowing that Purnell's image would be added.^[12]

Interest on crisis loans proposal

In December 2008, Purnell proposed charging interest on crisis loans to the unemployed and pensioners made by the Department for Work and Pensions, which were interest-free, at a rate of up to 26.8% per annum. This was met with great hostility and was blocked by the intervention of the prime minister, Gordon Brown.^[13]

Expenses scandal

Purnell was one of many MPs involved in political difficulties following the revelations of the 2009 expenses scandal. He told the parliamentary authorities that his main home was in Manchester and claimed the "second home" allowance for his flat in London. In October 2004, he sold his London flat but told HM Revenue and Customs it was his "principal home", not his "second home". A spokesman on behalf of Purnell said that "Any allegation that James avoided capital gains tax is completely untrue. When he bought his constituency home, the sale of his London flat fell through, but it was sold within the period that HMRC continue to treat it as not being liable for CGT ... This would have been true for any taxpayer – there was no special treatment".^[14] Also in 2004, Purnell claimed £395 for an accountant's bill which included "tax advice provided in October 2004 regarding sale of flat".^[14][15]

Whilst renting a flat between 2004 and 2006, Purnell claimed £100 a month for cleaning expenses and £586 for repairs. At the end of the lease, the landlord kept the £2,520 deposit, claiming the flat to have been in a poor state. A spokesman for Purnell stated: "James felt frustrated that the landlord refused to return the deposit. He initially pursued the matter through legal channels but let it rest as the costs of fighting it further would far outweigh recouping the deposit".^[16] Allegation were made by a Sunday newspaper that Purnell claimed more than £1,500 a month rent for the flat although he was responsible for paying half of the £1,820 a month rent and his fiancée was paying the rest. A spokesman for Purnell said "Despite being entitled to claim in full for the whole rental cost incurred by him and his partner, James claimed less than the amount he himself spent. The rules of the House of Commons make it clear that an MP is entitled to be reimbursed for the rent or mortgage paid by the MP and their partner. Nevertheless, James went out of his way to ensure overall he claimed less for accommodation than he himself paid".^[17] Purnell also claimed £247 for 3,000 fridge magnets.^[18]

Resignation from the Cabinet

On 4 June 2009, Purnell announced his resignation from the Cabinet, and called upon Gordon Brown to resign as Prime Minister.^[19] His resignation came only days after the resignations of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, whose expenses had been the subject of negative comments, and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, who had also avoided paying capital gains tax on her property. The news came just minutes after polls closed in the local and European elections, in which Labour performed badly. His letter to the Prime Minister, which was also sent to The Sun and The Times, read:^[20]

Dear Gordon,

We both love the Labour Party. I have worked for it for 20 years and you for far longer. We know we owe it everything and it owes us nothing. I owe it to our party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely.

That would be disastrous for our country. This moment calls for stronger regulation, an active state, better public services, an open democracy.

It calls for a government that measures itself by how it treats the poorest in society. Those are our values, not David Cameron's.

We therefore owe it to our country to give it a real choice. We need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible government and have the courage to offer an alternative future.

I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning. As such I am resigning from government. The party was here long before us, and we want it to be here long after we have gone. We must do the right thing by it.

I am not seeking the leadership, nor acting with anyone else. My actions are my own considered view, nothing more.

If the consensus is that you should continue, then I will support the government loyally from the backbenches. But I do believe that this question now needs to be put.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of serving.

Yours,

Rt Hon James Purnell MP^[20]

BBC career

In February 2013 Purnell left the IPPR in order to rejoin the BBC as its Director of Strategy, on a salary of £295,000;^[25] he assumed this position on 20 March.^[26] As a senior BBC employee he had to resign his membership of the Labour Party.

An Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal was brought by the BBC's former Chief Technology Officer, John Linwood, when he lost his job in 2013 after the Corporation's £100m Digital Media Initiative failed. During the case an email from Purnell was cited in evidence, which read: "We need a clear line on [John Linwood] on whether he is resigning or being fired and why". The tribunal's response to this was: "It was notable that there was no third option in Purnell's mind, such as a different disciplinary outcome." The tribunal found the BBC's processes to have given an "apparently cavalier disregard for any of the accepted norms of a fair disciplinary process", and that there was a "deeply ingrained cultural expectation within the organisation of sacrificial accountability". Linwood was awarded £80,000 in damages, and it was later revealed that the BBC had spent £498,000 defending the claim.^[27]

In late September 2016, Purnell was appointed as the BBC's Director of Radio and Education, in succession to Helen Boaden.^[28] He took up his new position in late October 2016.^[2] The Daily Telegraph described a key facet of his role as attracting younger listeners and viewers to the BBC.^[3]

In September 2020 the new director-general Tim Davie removed Purnell from his new smaller executive board. Purnell left the BBC that year to become president and vice-chancellor of University of the Arts London in spring 2021.^[3]