Reformed Political Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Reformed Political Party Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij
Abbreviation	SGP
Leader	Chris Stoffer
Chairman	Dick van Meeuwen
Leader in the Senate	Peter Schalk
Leader in the House of Representatives	Chris Stoffer
Leader in the European Parliament	Bert-Jan Ruissen
Founded	24 April 1918
Split from	Anti-Revolutionary Party
Headquarters	Burgemeester van Reenensingel 101 Gouda
Youth wing	Reformed Political Party Youth
Think tank	Guido de Brès Foundation
Membership (2024)	30,306
Ideology	Christian right Social conservatism Theocracy Soft Euroscepticism Historical: Anti-Catholicism
Political position	Right-wing
Religion	Calvinism Protestant fundamentalism
European affiliation	European Christian Political Movement
European Parliament group	European Conservatives and Reformists
Colours	Orange      Blue
Seats in the House of Representatives	3 / 150
Seats in the Senate	2 / 75
Seats in the States-Provincial	15 / 570
Seats in the European Parliament	1 / 29
King's Commissioners	0 / 12
Website
sgp.nl

The Reformed Political Party (SGP) is a political party in the Netherlands. It is known for its conservative views. The word "Reformed" in its name refers to Calvinism, a type of Protestantism, not to political changes.

The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands that still exists in its current form. It has always been an opposition party, meaning it has not been part of the government. Since 1925, the party usually wins between 1.6% and 2.5% of the votes in national elections. Currently, it holds three out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives.

Party History: How the SGP Started and Grew

Founding the Party in 1918

The SGP was started on April 24, 1918. It was formed by some conservative members who left the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP). They disagreed with the ARP's decision to support female suffrage, which means women being able to vote. They also did not like the ARP working with Catholic political groups.

A key person in starting the SGP was Gerrit Hendrik Kersten. He was a pastor from Yerseke.

Early Years: 1922 to 1945

The SGP first tried to win seats in the 1918 elections but did not succeed. In the 1922 election, the party won its first seat in Parliament. Gerrit Hendrik Kersten became a member of the House of Representatives.

During this time, the SGP became known for a specific event. In 1925, a government fell apart because of a vote on a proposal by the SGP. This event is known as the Nacht van Kersten ("Night of Kersten").

The party gained more seats, holding three in 1929 and 1933. However, it lost one seat in 1937. During World War II, Kersten faced criticism for some of his actions. After the war, he was removed from his seat in Parliament.

From 1945 to Today

Kees van der Staaij, a former party leader (2010-2023).

The SGP logo used from 2000 to 2016.

After Kersten, Pieter Zandt became the leader. Under his leadership, the SGP remained very stable, usually getting about 2% of the votes. In 1956, the party gained a seat in the Senate for the first time.

Over the years, the SGP had several leaders, including Cor van Dis sr., Hette Abma, and Henk van Rossum. In 1984, the SGP worked with two other Protestant parties for the European Parliament election. They won one seat, which was taken by SGP member Leen van der Waal.

Bas van der Vlies led the party for a long time, until 2010. He was then followed by Kees van der Staaij. In 2003, the SGP was considered as a possible partner for a government coalition. This was a rare event for the party.

In 2005, a court ruled that the SGP could not receive government funding because women were not allowed to hold leadership roles in the party. This was seen as unfair. However, a higher court later overturned this decision. The case went all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

Despite these legal challenges, the SGP changed its rules. On June 24, 2006, the party removed the ban on women being members. This meant women could now hold positions within the party. In 2014, the first woman from the SGP was elected to a local council in Vlissingen.

Party Beliefs and Key Issues

The SGP's beliefs come from the Calvinist tradition. They believe that the government should be based on the Bible. They also believe that the church and state have different roles but should work towards similar goals.

The SGP has specific views on social issues. They believe that men and women are equally valuable but have different roles in society. This belief led to their former rule that only men could be party members. They also believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

The party supports the idea of bringing back the death penalty in the Netherlands. They base this view on certain parts of the Bible.

On other topics, the SGP supports banning the burqa in some public places for security reasons. In foreign policy, they want to change the European Union a lot. They do not want the EU to expand further. They also believe that countries in NATO should spend more on defense.

Electoral Results: How the SGP Performs in Elections

House of Representatives Elections

The SGP has had very steady support since it first entered Parliament in 1922. It usually wins between two and three seats in the House of Representatives.

Election	Lijsttrekker	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1918	Gerrit Hendrik Kersten	5,180	0.39	0 / 100	New	Opposition
1922		26,744	0.91	1 / 100	1	Opposition
1925		62,513	2.03	2 / 100	1	Opposition
1929		76,709	2.27	3 / 100	1	Opposition
1933		93,273	2.51	3 / 100	0	Opposition
1937		78,619	1.94	2 / 100	1	Opposition
1946	Pieter Zandt	101,759	2.14	2 / 100	0	Opposition
1948		116,937	2.37	2 / 100	0	Opposition
1952		129,081	2.42	2 / 100	0	Opposition
1956		129,515	2.26	3 / 150	1	Opposition
1959		129,678	2.16	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1963	Cor van Dis Sr.	143,549	2.29	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1967		138,119	2.01	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1971	Hette Abma	148,221	2.35	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1972		163,114	2.21	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1977		177,010	2.13	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1981	Henk van Rossum	171,324	1.97	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1982		156,636	1.90	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1986	Bas van der Vlies	159,740	1.74	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1989		166,082	1.87	3 / 150	0	Opposition
1994		155,251	1.73	2 / 150	1	Opposition
1998		153,583	1.78	3 / 150	1	Opposition
2002		163,562	1.72	2 / 150	1	Opposition
2003		150,305	1.56	2 / 150	0	Opposition
2006		153,266	1.56	2 / 150	0	Opposition
2010	Kees van der Staaij	163,581	1.74	2 / 150	0	Opposition
2012		196,780	2.09	3 / 150	1	Opposition
2017		218,950	2.08	3 / 150	0	Opposition
2021		215,249	2.07 (#13)	3 / 150	0	Opposition
2023	Chris Stoffer	217,270	2.08 (#12)	3 / 150	0	Opposition

Provincial Elections

The SGP is strongest in the province of Zeeland, where it gets over 10% of the votes. It has 18 members in provincial legislatures on its own. It also has two seats from combined lists with the Christian Union.

The party's support is mainly found in the "Bible Belt". This is an area in the Netherlands with many Reformed communities. It stretches from Zeeland through parts of South Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel.

* result of combined ChristianUnion/SGP lists.

Local Government

Six out of 342 mayors in the Netherlands are SGP members. The party is also part of local governments in many towns. These towns are usually located within the "Bible Belt" region. The SGP has 40 aldermen and 244 members in local councils. In areas where the SGP is not as strong, it often works with the ChristenUnie party.

SGP Representatives in Government

Current Leaders

The SGP has leaders in different parts of the government. The party's main leader is also the leader of its group in the House of Representatives.

Members of the House of Representatives

The SGP has three members in the House of Representatives after the 2023 Dutch general election:

• Chris Stoffer, who is the leader of the party's group in Parliament.
• Diederik van Dijk
• André Flach

Members of the Senate

Since the 2015 Senate elections, the SGP has two members in the Senate:

• Peter Schalk, who leads the SGP group in the Senate.
• Diederik van Dijk

Members of the European Parliament

Since 1984, the SGP has had one member in the European Parliament. For European elections, the SGP often forms a joint list with the Christian Union.

• Bert-Jan Ruissen is the current member.

Who Votes for the SGP?

Areas in the Netherlands where the SGP received many votes in 2010. These areas mostly match the Dutch Bible Belt.

The SGP has a very loyal group of voters. Since it first entered Parliament, its support has been very stable. Most of its voters are "bevindelijk gereformeerden." These are Reformed Christians who believe personal religious experience is very important. This group includes members from several smaller churches and a conservative part of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.

The SGP's support is strongest in the "Dutch Bible Belt". This area includes towns like Urk and Uddel. In these places, the SGP often receives more than half of the votes.

How the SGP is Organized

Party Structure

The highest decision-making body of the SGP is its congress. This meeting happens once a year and includes representatives from local branches. The congress chooses the party board and decides on important things like the party's program. The SGP chairman is usually a minister (a religious leader).

The party has 245 local branches and provincial groups in most provinces.

Groups Connected to the SGP

The SGP publishes a newspaper called the Banner every two weeks. The party also has a think tank, which is a group that does research and develops ideas. It's called the Guido de Brès Foundation.

The youth organization of the SGP is called the Reformed Political Party Youth (SGPJ). It is the largest political youth organization in the Netherlands, with about 12,000 members.

The SGP also works with the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy. This organization helps support democracy in different countries.

Close Ties with Other Organizations

The SGP has strong connections with other orthodox Protestant groups. These include several Reformed churches and the newspaper Reformatorisch Dagblad. Together, they form a close-knit community.

Working with Other Parties

For a long time, the SGP was quite isolated in Parliament. It did not want to work with Catholic or secular parties. However, in 1963, another orthodox Protestant party, the Reformed Political League (GPV), entered Parliament. Later, the Reformatory Political Federation (RPF) also joined. These three parties, sometimes called the "Small Christian parties," shared similar beliefs.

They often worked together in local governments and for European Parliament elections. In 2000, the GPV and RPF merged to form the ChristianUnion (CU). The SGP and CU traditionally worked closely. However, the CU has become more moderate, leading to some differences.

Recently, the SGP has had more influence in national politics. For example, the first government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte needed the SGP's support in the Senate to pass laws. Because of this, the SGP was able to achieve some of its goals, like supporting larger families and limiting business hours on Sundays.

See also

In Spanish: Partido Político Reformado para niños