On graduating, Purvis worked full-time for Sir David Steel in the House of Commons and then ran his office in the House of Lords. In 1998 he moved to Edinburgh to work for a parliamentary affairs company and in 2001 he established, with a fellow director, his own strategic communications consultancy, advising clients on communications.
He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2003 aged 29, making him the youngest constituency MSP at the time. He was the Scottish Liberal Democrat Finance Spokesman and then moved on to become Justice and Home Affairs spokesman. He was re-elected in 2007 following a close campaign, with some of the media stating that the Scottish National Party candidate Christine Grahame would defeat him. Ultimately, both parties greatly increased their vote shares at the expense of the Conservatives and Labour. Purvis's margin declined by 0.2 percentage points but increased by 65 votes; this discrepancy was due to a vast increase in turnout in the 2007 election. He was subsequently defeated by Grahame in the 2011 election.
He was the Scottish Liberal Democrats Spokesman for the Economy and Finance. Mr Purvis wrote the Scottish Liberal Democrats 2011 Election Manifesto. He currently lives in Galashiels.
He was created a life peer on 13 September 2013 taking the title Baron Purvis of Tweed, of East March in the Scottish Borders.[2]
In November 2016 he was announced as a member of the Commission on Parliamentary Reform, having been nominated to represent the Scottish Liberal Democrats.[3]
