SP and PvdA at the start of the municipal elections: ‘Don’t look away, listen’

Affordable housing and a better quality of life in the neighbourhoods. These are spearheads for both the SP and the PvdA in the campaign for the municipal elections on March 16th. PvdA focuses more on housing and SP on neighborhoods. Through their action points, they say they are against the politics of the parties also represented in the Cabinet (VVD, D66, CDA, ChristenUnie).

In Den Bosch, PvdA leader Ploumen called for affordable housing to be built. According to her, local officials are making wrong choices and expensive homes are being built. She spoke, among other things, about the “gold coast” in Den Bosch, but “wrong choices are being made in many other places”, for example in Amsterdam. PvdA has prepared a manifesto to make more affordable housing available in municipalities.

Plomin accuses the national government parties of not listening carefully to what people need. It also points to cutbacks in youth care and the potential closure of pediatric heart surgery in Groningen. “The new government’s plans will not reduce inequality in society,” Blumen says. “They have to be more social and fair.”

migrant workers

In Heerlen, Socialist Party leader Mariensen said the national government parties were not seeing what people really needed. She says the problems in neighborhoods in particular deserve more attention. Increasingly, Marijnsen says, politicians are turning away from this. “They talk about the housing crisis, the climate crisis, but for a lot of people around the corner, it’s always been a crisis.” Among other things, SP strongly criticized the disappearance of the local police officer.

Marijnesen also reiterated SP’s concerns about the influx of expats, who, according to her, do not speak the language and are not assimilated into neighborhoods. The Socialist Party will continue to “point out this problem”, despite criticism from other left-wing parties.

Marinesen also described it as incomprehensible that Minister Kag announced yesterday that compensation for the increased energy prices is likely not possible, because subsequent generations will be charged for it. “Billions go to polluting companies,” said the Socialist Party leader.

The Socialist Party participates in fewer municipalities this year than in the elections in 2018. Then there were 110, now 86. This is partly due to the conflict with the youth department of Rudd, which has no ties anymore.