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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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white paper
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Any document presented by government to parliament as a firm statement of policy, usually outlining future legislation. Its whiteness is that of the paper itself, for such documents have usually been slim enough to have no cover, the first printed page forming the outer surface. By contrast a 'blue book' meant originally a document of similar kind which was fat enough to require a cover, of a thick blue paper; nowadays this usually means official reports, from government enquiries or royal commissions. A green paper (for a while they had green covers) is a recent innovation, dating only from the 1960s; it differs from a white paper in putting forward, as a basis for discussion, policies which are as yet only at a formative stage.
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