Andy Burnham has announced that James Purnell, a former New Labour work and pensions secretary of state, will be his chief of staff if he becomes prime minister.
Purnell was work and pensions secretary under Gordon Brown.
Most recently, whilst out of politics, Purnell has been the CEO of Flint Global, which the Guardian reports has advised companies including Google, Microsoft, Glencore, Apple and Thames Water.
One of Purnell’s most notable actions whilst work and pensions secretary was an attempt to charge interest rates of up to 26.8% per annum on crisis loans, which had always been interest free. The move was eventually blocked by Brown.
In December 2008, in a welfare reform debate, Purnell told MPs “we want virtually everyone claiming benefits to be preparing for, or looking for, work. It is a fair deal—more support, in return for higher expectations.”
In the same debate, Purnell quoted approvingly from the Gregg report in favour of imposing sanctions on claimants:
“That is why conditionality is so important in the welfare state. Only 5 per cent. of incapacity benefit stock claimants voluntarily take up the support that the pathways to work programme offers, and only around one in four lone parents takes up the support offered by their new deal. Partners in couples in which no one is working face even fewer obligations than lone parents.
“The Gregg report found that conditionality backed with a regime of sanctions improves outcomes.”
If Purnell still holds the same view that virtually everyone claiming benefits should be preparing for or looking for work, then he is likely to approve of the approach to benefits being taken by Alan Milburn, whose interim report lamented the failure to link PIP to work or to functional improvements.
As chief of staff, Purnell would have no role in deciding policy. But he would play an important part in deciding which policies get the most government time and attention and how much pressure is applied to ministers to get specific policies delivered.
