Reformed Political Party
Encyclopedia
The Reformed Political Party is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. The term Reformed is not a reference to political reform, but is a synonym for Calvinist
. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands
in its current form, and for its entire existence has been in opposition. For its orthodox political ideals and its refusal to cooperate in any cabinet, the party is called a testimonial party
.
. They did not agree with female suffrage, which the ARP had made possible. Furthermore they were against the alliance the ARP had formed with the Catholic General League
. The party entered in the 1918 general elections
, but it was unable to win any seats. The leading figure in the party's foundation was Yerseke
minister Gerrit Hendrik Kersten
.
In the 1922 election
the party entered Parliament. In this period the SGP became most noted for proposing to abolish the Dutch representation at the Holy See
during each annual parliamentary debate on the budget of the ministry of foreign affairs. Each year the Protestant Christian Historical Union
(CHU) voted in favour. The CHU was in cabinet with the Catholic General League, but many of its members and supporters still had strong feelings against the Roman-Catholic Church. In 1925 the leftwing opposition composed of the leftwing liberal VDB and the social-democratic SDAP voted in favour of the motion. They were indifferent to the representation at the Holy See, but saw this as a possibility to divide the confessional
cabinet. And indeed the cabinet fell over this issue, in what is known as the Nacht van Kersten (Night of Kersten).
In the subsequent elections
, the party won one seat, and in the 1929 election
the party won another. It remained stable in the 1933 elections
but lost one seat in the 1937 elections
in which ARP prime minister Hendrikus Colijn
performed particularly well. During the Second World War
, Kersten cooperated with the Nazi occupiers to allow his paper, the Banier, to be printed and had condemned the resistance. After the war, he was not allowed to return to the House of Representatives.
the SGP profited from the enlargement of parliament, and it got a seat in the Senate, which the party lost in 1960, but regained in 1971. In 1961 Zandt died and he was succeeded by engineer Cornelis van Dis. After ten years he stood down in favour of minister Hette Abma, who also stepped down after ten years, in favour of engineer Henk van Rossum. In 1984 the SGP joined the two other orthodox Protestant parties RPF and the GPV in order to gain one seat in the European Parliament
, it was taken by SGP engineer Van der Waal. In 1986 Van Rossum was succeeded by Bas van der Vlies
, who led the party till March 2010, when he was succeeded by Kees van der Staaij
. In 1994
the party lost one seat in parliament, which it regained in 1998
but lost again in 2002
. After the general election of 2003
, the Christian Democratic Appeal
(CDA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
(VVD) held talks with the SGP--the first time in recent memory that the SGP had been seriously considered as a possible coalition partner. Ultimately the Democrats 66
joined the Second Balkenende cabinet
instead of the SGP, mostly because of the ideological differences between VVD and SGP.
On September 7, 2005 the district court of The Hague judged that the party could no longer receive subsidies from the government, because women were forbidden to be members of the party. This was found to be a violation of the 1981 UN Treaty on Women
in which the Netherlands committed to fighting discrimination. It also was a violation of first article of the Dutch constitution
, the principle of non-discrimination
. The Dutch Council of State overturned the decision though, saying that a party's political philosophy is superior, and that women have the opportunity to join political parties where they can obtain a leadership role.
Female members of the SGP-youth (which does allow female membership) said however that they did not feel discriminated or repressed. During a party congress on June 24, 2006, the SGP lifted the ban on female membership. Political positions inside and outside the party are open to women. The party supports mixed lists for elections.
(Nederlandse Geloofsbelijdenis). The latter text is explicitly mentioned in the first principle of the party, where it is stated that the SGP strives towards a government totally based on the Bible. This first principle also states that the uncut version of the Belgic Confession is meant, which adds the task of opposing anti-Christian powers to the description of the government's roles and tasks. The party is a strict defender of the separation between church and state, rejecting "both the state church
and church state". Both church and state are believed to have distinct roles in society, while working towards the same goal, but despite this, the SGP advocates theocracy. The SGP opposes freedom of religion
, but advocates freedom of conscience
instead, noting that "obedience to the law of God cannot be forced".
The SGP opposes feminism
, and concludes, on Biblical grounds, that men and women are of equal value (gelijkwaardig) but not equal (gelijk). Men and women, so the party claims, have different places in society. This belief led to restricting party membership to men until 2006, when this restriction became subject to controversy and was eventually removed.
The party does not seek to be in government, but instead uses parliament to express its principles. Therefore the party is called a testimonial party
.
In controversial discussions in the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), the SGP can often be heard voicing an opinion stressing the importance of the rule of law
, parliamentary procedure
and rules of order, regardless of ideological agreement. The SGP forbade women to be member of the party until 2006. The party favours the re-introduction of the death penalty in the Netherlands. They base this on the Bible
, specifically on Genesis 9:6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man," and Exodus 21:12, "He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death."
Internationally the party is comparable to the Swiss Federal Democratic Union, a conservative Protestant party. It is also similar to the American
Christian Right
.
In Scandinavia, the Faroese Centre Party
is an example of a bible-fundamentalist party. In comparison, the Norwegian Christian People's Party, the Swedish Christian Democrats
and Danish Christian Democrats
are less orthodox and in line with mainstream European Christian Democracy
.
has been the same as the fractievoorzitter of that year in every election.
the party has had two representatives in the House of Representatives:
, the party has had one representative in the Senate:
the party has one elected representative in the European Parliament
. From 1984 to 1997 Leen van der Waal
was the representative, from 1999 until now Bas Belder is the party's representative. In the European elections, the SGP formed one parliamentary party with the ChristenUnie, called ChristenUnie-SGP
. It was part of the Independence and Democracy
multinational party. After the 2009 European Parliament elections
they split up. The SGP is now part of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy
(EFD) party:
provincial executive. There, the party is the strongest, with over 10% of the vote. It has 14 members of provincial legislature.
The table below shows the election results of the 2003 provincial election in each province. It shows the areas where the Reformed Political Party is strong, namely in the Dutch bible belt
: a band from Zeeland, via parts of South Holland and Utrecht, Gelderland to Overijssel.
* result of combined ChristianUnion
/SGP lists.
** members of the SGP (estimate) in combined ChristianUnion
/SGP parliamentary parties.
, Reformed Parishes, Old Reformed Church, as well as the conservative wing of the Dutch Reformed Church
, the Reformed League.
The SGP's support is concentrated geographically in the Dutch bible belt
, a band of reformed municipalities ranging from Zeeland
in the South via Goeree-Overflakkee
and the Alblasserwaard
in South Holland
and the Veluwe
in Gelderland
to the Western part of Overijssel
, around Staphorst
. The SGP is also very strong on the former island Urk
. The party scored absolute majorities in the several villages, in Uddel
even 65,2% of the vote.
The party has 245 municipal branches and has a provincial federation in each province, except for Limburg
.
The SGP participates in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.
. Together they form a small but strong orthodox-reformed pillar.
or the secularists (the liberal VVD and the social-democratic PvdA). The larger Protestant ARP
had some sympathy for the party, but cooperated tightly with the KVP and the Protestant CHU
. In 1963 another orthodox Protestant party, the GPV entered parliament, in 1981 they were joined by the RPF. Together these three parties formed the "Small Christian parties". They shared the same orthodox Protestant political ideals and had the same political strategy, as testimonial parties. They cooperated in municipalities, both in municipal executives
, where the parties were strong, as well as in common municipal parties, where the parties were weak. In the 1984 European election
the parties presented a common list and they won one seat in parliament. After 1993 the cooperation between the GPV and the RPF intensified, but the SGP's position at the time on female suffrage prevented the SGP joining this closer cooperation. However, in 2000 the GPV and RPF fused to form the ChristenUnie. Traditionally the SGP and the CU worked together closely as they were both based on Protestant Christian politics
. Recently however, as the CU moved more towards the left center, stark differences of philosophy between the SGP and CU have caused the parties to join together in elections. The most notable example was the 2011 senate election where the SGP and CU did not combine their votes.
The current (2011) minority cabinet in the Netherlands often depends on the SGP to reach the number of votes required to pass legislation. This is a consequence of the 2011 senate elections whereby the ruling parties (VVD and CDA
) plus their non governing partner PVV
failed to achieve a 38-seat majority. The current minority cabinet also relies on the SGP in the house of representative to achieve a majority vote in some cases. Consequently the SGP has been able to achieve a number of its own political objectives: continuing child support for larger families, restricting business hours on Sundays and restricting gays rights education in public schools.
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in its current form, and for its entire existence has been in opposition. For its orthodox political ideals and its refusal to cooperate in any cabinet, the party is called a testimonial party
Testimonial party
Testimonial party is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation...
.
Foundation
The SGP was founded on April 24, 1918, by several conservative members of the Protestant Anti Revolutionary PartyAnti Revolutionary Party
The Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
. They did not agree with female suffrage, which the ARP had made possible. Furthermore they were against the alliance the ARP had formed with the Catholic General League
Algemeene Bond van RK-kiesverenigingen
The General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses was a Dutch Catholic political party...
. The party entered in the 1918 general elections
Dutch general election, 1918
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 3, 1918. It was the first election in which universal male suffrage was applied, and the first in which a system of proportional representation was used...
, but it was unable to win any seats. The leading figure in the party's foundation was Yerseke
Yerseke
Yerseke is a village situated on the southern shore of the Oosterschelde estuary in the Dutch province of Zeeland. A separate municipality until 1970, it today forms part of the municipality of Reimerswaal. As of 2010 Yerseke had a recorded population of 6,570 inhabitants divided over 2590...
minister Gerrit Hendrik Kersten
Gerrit Hendrik Kersten
Gerrit Hendrik Kersten was a Dutch Christian minister and politician. In 1907, Kersten founded the Netherlands Reformed Congregations. Eleven years later, in 1918, Kersten established the Reformed Political Party. He was the party's first member of the House of Representatives, after being elected...
.
1922-1945
Dutch general election, 1922
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 5, 1922. It was the first election under universal suffrage, which became reality after the acceptance of a proposal by Marchant in 1919 that gave women full voting rights...
the party entered Parliament. In this period the SGP became most noted for proposing to abolish the Dutch representation at the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
during each annual parliamentary debate on the budget of the ministry of foreign affairs. Each year the Protestant Christian Historical Union
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union was a Dutch conservative Protestant political party. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal.-History before 1908:...
(CHU) voted in favour. The CHU was in cabinet with the Catholic General League, but many of its members and supporters still had strong feelings against the Roman-Catholic Church. In 1925 the leftwing opposition composed of the leftwing liberal VDB and the social-democratic SDAP voted in favour of the motion. They were indifferent to the representation at the Holy See, but saw this as a possibility to divide the confessional
Christian democracy in the Netherlands
This article gives an overview of christian democracy in the Netherlands, which is also called confessional politics, including political Catholicism and Protestantism. It is limited to Christian democratic parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament...
cabinet. And indeed the cabinet fell over this issue, in what is known as the Nacht van Kersten (Night of Kersten).
In the subsequent elections
Dutch general election, 1925
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 1, 1925.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League...
, the party won one seat, and in the 1929 election
Dutch general election, 1929
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 3, 1929.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League...
the party won another. It remained stable in the 1933 elections
Dutch general election, 1933
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on April 26, 1933.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...
but lost one seat in the 1937 elections
Dutch general election, 1937
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on May 26, 1937.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...
in which ARP prime minister Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn was a successful Dutch soldier, businessman and politician.-Early life:He was born in 1869 in the Haarlemmermeer to Antonie Colijn and Anna Verkuil, who had migrated to the Haarlemmermeer polder from the Land of Heusden and Altena for religious reasons...
performed particularly well. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kersten cooperated with the Nazi occupiers to allow his paper, the Banier, to be printed and had condemned the resistance. After the war, he was not allowed to return to the House of Representatives.
1945 - present
Kersten was succeeded by minister Piet Zandt, under whose leadership the SGP was very stable, continually getting 2% of votes. In 1956Dutch general election, 1956
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on June 13, 1956.The 1956 election marks an important change in the history of the Dutch House of Representatives: the number of seats in the House was increased from 100 to 150.-National...
the SGP profited from the enlargement of parliament, and it got a seat in the Senate, which the party lost in 1960, but regained in 1971. In 1961 Zandt died and he was succeeded by engineer Cornelis van Dis. After ten years he stood down in favour of minister Hette Abma, who also stepped down after ten years, in favour of engineer Henk van Rossum. In 1984 the SGP joined the two other orthodox Protestant parties RPF and the GPV in order to gain one seat in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, it was taken by SGP engineer Van der Waal. In 1986 Van Rossum was succeeded by Bas van der Vlies
Bas van der Vlies
Bastiaan Johannis van der Vlies is a former Dutch politician of the Reformed Political Party . He was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands from June 10, 1981 until June 17, 2010. However, this does not make him the longest serving MP, Duymaer van Twist served for almost 45...
, who led the party till March 2010, when he was succeeded by Kees van der Staaij
Kees van der Staaij
Cornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij born September 12, 1968) is a Dutch politician of the Reformed Political Party . As a member of the Reformed Political Party he has been an MP since May 19, 1998...
. In 1994
Dutch general election, 1994
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 3, 1994.-Results:...
the party lost one seat in parliament, which it regained in 1998
Dutch general election, 1998
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on 6 May 1998.-Result:...
but lost again in 2002
Dutch general election, 2002
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002....
. After the general election of 2003
Dutch general election, 2003
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on January 22, 2003.-Background:...
, the Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
(CDA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
(VVD) held talks with the SGP--the first time in recent memory that the SGP had been seriously considered as a possible coalition partner. Ultimately the Democrats 66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
joined the Second Balkenende cabinet
Second Balkenende cabinet
The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands formed on 27 May 2003. It consisted of three political parties: People's Party for Freedom and Democracy , Christian Democratic Appeal , and Democrats 66 , which is the smallest of the three.On 29 June 2006, D66 dropped its support for...
instead of the SGP, mostly because of the ideological differences between VVD and SGP.
On September 7, 2005 the district court of The Hague judged that the party could no longer receive subsidies from the government, because women were forbidden to be members of the party. This was found to be a violation of the 1981 UN Treaty on Women
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women is an international convention adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly....
in which the Netherlands committed to fighting discrimination. It also was a violation of first article of the Dutch constitution
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of...
, the principle of non-discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
. The Dutch Council of State overturned the decision though, saying that a party's political philosophy is superior, and that women have the opportunity to join political parties where they can obtain a leadership role.
Female members of the SGP-youth (which does allow female membership) said however that they did not feel discriminated or repressed. During a party congress on June 24, 2006, the SGP lifted the ban on female membership. Political positions inside and outside the party are open to women. The party supports mixed lists for elections.
Ideology and issues
As an orthodox Protestant radical conservative party, the SGP draws much from its ideology from the reformed tradition, specifically the Three Principles of Unity and the old text of the Belgic ConfessionBelgic Confession
The Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe. The Confession forms part of the Reformed Three Forms of Unity...
(Nederlandse Geloofsbelijdenis). The latter text is explicitly mentioned in the first principle of the party, where it is stated that the SGP strives towards a government totally based on the Bible. This first principle also states that the uncut version of the Belgic Confession is meant, which adds the task of opposing anti-Christian powers to the description of the government's roles and tasks. The party is a strict defender of the separation between church and state, rejecting "both the state church
State church
State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.State churches are not necessarily national churches in the ethnic sense of the term, but the two concepts may overlap in the case of a nation state where the state...
and church state". Both church and state are believed to have distinct roles in society, while working towards the same goal, but despite this, the SGP advocates theocracy. The SGP opposes freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, but advocates freedom of conscience
Freedom of thought
Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints....
instead, noting that "obedience to the law of God cannot be forced".
The SGP opposes feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, and concludes, on Biblical grounds, that men and women are of equal value (gelijkwaardig) but not equal (gelijk). Men and women, so the party claims, have different places in society. This belief led to restricting party membership to men until 2006, when this restriction became subject to controversy and was eventually removed.
The party does not seek to be in government, but instead uses parliament to express its principles. Therefore the party is called a testimonial party
Testimonial party
Testimonial party is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation...
.
In controversial discussions in the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), the SGP can often be heard voicing an opinion stressing the importance of the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
, parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
and rules of order, regardless of ideological agreement. The SGP forbade women to be member of the party until 2006. The party favours the re-introduction of the death penalty in the Netherlands. They base this on the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, specifically on Genesis 9:6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man," and Exodus 21:12, "He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death."
Internationally the party is comparable to the Swiss Federal Democratic Union, a conservative Protestant party. It is also similar to the American
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
Christian Right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
.
In Scandinavia, the Faroese Centre Party
Centre Party (Faroe Islands)
The Centre Party is a Christianity-based, agrarian and conservative political party in the Faroe Islands, led by Jenis av Rana.At the 2008 parliamentary election, the party won 8.4% of the popular vote and 3 out of 33 seats...
is an example of a bible-fundamentalist party. In comparison, the Norwegian Christian People's Party, the Swedish Christian Democrats
Christian Democrats (Sweden)
The Christian Democrats ) is a political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1964 but did not enter parliament until 1985 in an electoral cooperation with the Centre Party and on the Christian Democrats' own accord in 1991. The leader since April 3, 2004 is Göran Hägglund. He succeeded Alf...
and Danish Christian Democrats
Christian Democrats (Denmark)
The Christian Democrats are a political party in Denmark. The party was founded in 1970 to oppose the liberalization of restrictions on pornography and the legalization of abortion....
are less orthodox and in line with mainstream European Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
.
Representation
This is a list of representations of Reformed Political Party in the Dutch parliament, as well as the provincial, municipal and European elections. The party's lijsttrekkerLijsttrekker
Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of...
has been the same as the fractievoorzitter of that year in every election.
EWLINE
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* in combined ChristianUnionChristianUnionThe ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
/SGP parliamentary parties (estimated).- In 2007, the total number of seats for election in the provincial elections was reduced. Proportionally, the party went from 2,51% to 2,39% in that year, and the combined list from 0,77% to 0,88%.
- Source: nlverkiezingen.com
House of Representatives
Since the 2010 electionsDutch general election, 2010
The 2010 Dutch general election was held on Wednesday, 9 June 2010. After the fall of the cabinet Balkenende IV on 20 February, Queen Beatrix accepted the resignation of the Labour Party ministers on 23 February...
the party has had two representatives in the House of Representatives:
- Kees van der StaaijKees van der StaaijCornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij born September 12, 1968) is a Dutch politician of the Reformed Political Party . As a member of the Reformed Political Party he has been an MP since May 19, 1998...
, Parliamentary group leaderParliamentary group leaderThe leader or chairman of a parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong party discipline... - Elbert DijkgraafElbert DijkgraafElbert Dijkgraaf is a Dutch politician and economist. As a member of the Reformed Political Party he has been an MP since June 17, 2010...
Senate
Since the 2011 Senate electionsDutch Senate election, 2011
The elections of the Dutch Senate of 2011 were held on 23 May 2011, following the provincial elections on 2 March 2011. The 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial elected the 75 Senate members...
, the party has had one representative in the Senate:
- Gerrit HoldijkGerrit HoldijkGerrit Holdijk is a Dutch jurist and politician.He is a member of the Reformed Political Party . On behalf of this party he was a member of the States-Provincial of Gelderland from 1987 to 2011...
, Senate group leaderParliamentary group leaderThe leader or chairman of a parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong party discipline...
European Parliament
Since the European Parliament election, 1984European Parliament election, 1984
The 1984 election to the European Parliament was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece. It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1987....
the party has one elected representative in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. From 1984 to 1997 Leen van der Waal
Leen van der Waal
Leendert van der Waal is a Dutch engineer and former politician. He is a member of the Reformed Political Party and former Member of the European Parliament.- References :...
was the representative, from 1999 until now Bas Belder is the party's representative. In the European elections, the SGP formed one parliamentary party with the ChristenUnie, called ChristenUnie-SGP
ChristenUnie-SGP
Christian Union – Reformed Political Party was a parliamentary party in the European Parliament formed by two Dutch orthodox Protestant parties: the ChristianUnion and the Reformed Political Party...
. It was part of the Independence and Democracy
Independence and Democracy
The Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament was a group of eurosceptic and eurorealist political parties in the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It collapsed following the 2009 European elections after losing many of its MEPs....
multinational party. After the 2009 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (Netherlands)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in the Netherlands was the election of the delegation from the Netherlands to the European Parliament in 2009 and took place on June 4, 2009. Seventeen parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 25 seats...
they split up. The SGP is now part of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy is a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. Formed after the European parliamentary election in 2009, it is mostly made up of elements of the now defunct Independence/Democracy and Union for a Europe of Nations groups from the out-going...
(EFD) party:
- Bas Belder, member
Provincial government
In provincial governments, the party participates in the ZeelandZeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
provincial executive. There, the party is the strongest, with over 10% of the vote. It has 14 members of provincial legislature.
The table below shows the election results of the 2003 provincial election in each province. It shows the areas where the Reformed Political Party is strong, namely in the Dutch bible belt
Bible Belt (Netherlands)
The Bible Belt is the name given to a strip of land in the Netherlands, which is inhabited chiefly by conservative Protestants...
: a band from Zeeland, via parts of South Holland and Utrecht, Gelderland to Overijssel.
| Province | Votes (%) | Result (seats) |
|---|---|---|
| Flevoland Flevoland Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital... |
3.26 | 1 |
| Friesland Friesland Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân... |
5.61* | 1** |
| Gelderland Gelderland Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,... |
5.02 | 4 |
| Overijssel Overijssel Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede... |
3.53 | 2 |
| Utrecht Utrecht (province) Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest... |
3.58 | 2 |
| Zeeland Zeeland Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about... |
12.68 | 6 |
| South Holland South Holland South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world... |
4.67 | 4 |
| North Holland North Holland North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:... |
1.90* | 1** |
| Drenthe Drenthe Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a... |
0.34 | 0 |
| North Brabant North Brabant North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :... |
1.59* | 0** |
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
/SGP lists.
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
/SGP parliamentary parties.
Municipal government
5 of the 414 mayors of the Netherlands are member of the SGP, and the party participates in several local executives, usually in municipalities located within the Dutch Bible Belt. The party has 40 aldermen and 244 members of local legislature. In many municipalities where the SGP is weaker, it cooperates with the ChristenUnie, presenting common lists.Electorate
The SGP has a very stable electorate, the party varies between 2 and 3 seats. The party has been called “an almost perfect illustration of Duverger's category of “fossilized” minor party.” Most of its electorate is formed by so-called "bevindelijk gereformeerden", reformed for whom personal religious experience is very important. This group is formed by several smaller churches such as the Christian Reformed ChurchesChristian Reformed Churches
The Christian Reformed Churches are a Protestant church in the Netherlands with about 75,000 members.The original name of the church was Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands . The church was formed in 1869 by the merger of two churches, both separated from the Dutch Reformed Church in 1834...
, Reformed Parishes, Old Reformed Church, as well as the conservative wing of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
, the Reformed League.
The SGP's support is concentrated geographically in the Dutch bible belt
Bible Belt (Netherlands)
The Bible Belt is the name given to a strip of land in the Netherlands, which is inhabited chiefly by conservative Protestants...
, a band of reformed municipalities ranging from Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
in the South via Goeree-Overflakkee
Goeree-Overflakkee
Goeree-Overflakkee is the southernmost delta island of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North Brabant by the Volkerak, and from Schouwen-Duiveland by Lake Grevelingen.From west to east, it...
and the Alblasserwaard
Alblasserwaard
The Alblasserwaard is a polder in the province South Holland in the Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, a village in the northwest of the Alblasserwaard.-History:...
in South Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
and the Veluwe
Veluwe
The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts....
in Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
to the Western part of Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
, around Staphorst
Staphorst
Staphorst is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.-History:The villages of Staphorst and its southern neighbour Rouveen came into existence as in the 13th century monks started to bring the bogs and swamps into culture. All the farms were built along the long road through the bog...
. The SGP is also very strong on the former island Urk
Urk
Urk is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands.Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the Almere, a lake that would become part of the Zuiderzee in the 13th century after a series of incursions...
. The party scored absolute majorities in the several villages, in Uddel
Uddel
Uddel is a village on the Veluwe, in the municipality of Apeldoorn, Gelderland, Netherlands. Uddel is located on the N310 from Elburg to Arnhem. The oldest mention of Uddel dates back to the year 792, as the settlement Uttiloch. The village had 2,830 inhabitants in 2004.Uddel is a conservative...
even 65,2% of the vote.
Organizational structure
The highest organ of the SGP is the congress, it is formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It convenes once every year. It appoints the party board and decides the order of the Senate, House of Representatives, European Parliament candidates list and has the last say over the party program. The SGP chairman is always a minister. Since 2001 this position is ceremonial, as the general chair leads the party's organization.The party has 245 municipal branches and has a provincial federation in each province, except for Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
.
Linked organisations
The party publishes the Banner two-weekly since 1921. The scientific institute of the party is called the Guido de Brès-foundation, it publishes the magazine Zicht (Sight). The youth organisation of the SGP is called the SGP-jongeren, with about 12,000 members the largest political youth organization of the Netherlands.The SGP participates in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy is a democracy assistance organisation of political parties in the Netherlands for political parties in young democracies...
, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.
Pillarized organisations
The SGP still has close links with several other orthodox Protestant organizations, such as several reformed churches and Het Reformatorisch DagbladReformatorisch Dagblad
The Reformatorisch Dagblad is a Dutch protestant newspaper with a circulation of around 60,000, headquartered in Apeldoorn. The conservative newspaper was founded in 1971 and is associated with the Reformed Political Party; it is one of only a handful daily national papers remaining in the...
. Together they form a small but strong orthodox-reformed pillar.
Relationships to other parties
Until 1963 the SGP was relatively isolated in parliament. The strongly antipapal SGP refused to cooperate with Catholic KVPCatholic People's Party
The Catholic People's Party was a Catholic Christian democratic Dutch political party. During its entire existence, the party was in government. The party is one of the precursors of the Christian Democratic Appeal.- 1945-1965 :The KVP was founded on 22 December, 1945...
or the secularists (the liberal VVD and the social-democratic PvdA). The larger Protestant ARP
Anti Revolutionary Party
The Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
had some sympathy for the party, but cooperated tightly with the KVP and the Protestant CHU
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union was a Dutch conservative Protestant political party. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal.-History before 1908:...
. In 1963 another orthodox Protestant party, the GPV entered parliament, in 1981 they were joined by the RPF. Together these three parties formed the "Small Christian parties". They shared the same orthodox Protestant political ideals and had the same political strategy, as testimonial parties. They cooperated in municipalities, both in municipal executives
College van Burgemeester en Wethouders
The college van burgemeester en wethouders is the executive board of a municipality in the Netherlands. This local government body plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands. It consists of the mayor and the members of the municipal executive...
, where the parties were strong, as well as in common municipal parties, where the parties were weak. In the 1984 European election
European Parliament election, 1984
The 1984 election to the European Parliament was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece. It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1987....
the parties presented a common list and they won one seat in parliament. After 1993 the cooperation between the GPV and the RPF intensified, but the SGP's position at the time on female suffrage prevented the SGP joining this closer cooperation. However, in 2000 the GPV and RPF fused to form the ChristenUnie. Traditionally the SGP and the CU worked together closely as they were both based on Protestant Christian politics
Christianity and politics
The relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a frequent source of disagreement throughout Church history, and in modern politics between the Christian right and Christian left.-Foundations:...
. Recently however, as the CU moved more towards the left center, stark differences of philosophy between the SGP and CU have caused the parties to join together in elections. The most notable example was the 2011 senate election where the SGP and CU did not combine their votes.
The current (2011) minority cabinet in the Netherlands often depends on the SGP to reach the number of votes required to pass legislation. This is a consequence of the 2011 senate elections whereby the ruling parties (VVD and CDA
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
) plus their non governing partner PVV
Party for Freedom and Progress
The Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992 and was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats and in Wallonia by the Parti Réformateur...
failed to achieve a 38-seat majority. The current minority cabinet also relies on the SGP in the house of representative to achieve a majority vote in some cases. Consequently the SGP has been able to achieve a number of its own political objectives: continuing child support for larger families, restricting business hours on Sundays and restricting gays rights education in public schools.
External links
- SGP website (note: closed on Sundays)
- SGP European Parliament