If we look at the results of the elections for the House of Representatives in Brabant since 2006, we see that Lilian Marinissen’s party has continued to decline since those elections. While the SP was the second largest in Brabant in 2006, it now ranks a paltry seventh.

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The decline of the Socialist Party coincides with the rise of other (populist) parties such as the Party for Freedom and now also the BBB and the National Security Council. Meanwhile, the party is competing on the left with GroenLinks and PvdA, which have joined forces in these elections.

Research agency IPSOS conducted research on the development between political parties on behalf of NOS. As can be seen in the image below, the Socialist Party lost equally to the PVV, NSC and GroenLinks-PvdA in the recent House of Representatives elections.

Even in Aus, where founder Jan Marinissen and father of current leader Liliane Marinissen built the party, the Socialist Party is facing a harsh awakening. The former stronghold now appears to be inhabited and occupied by other parties:

• Municipal Council 2022: VDG (26.1%), SP (19.9%)
• County Council 2023: BBB (19.5%), SP (13.1%)
• House of Representatives 2023: Freedom Party (31.5%), Socialist Party (8.2%)

Not an easy story
Topics important to voters included Social Security and health care, according to research by Omrup Brabant. Topics in which SP has been able to distinguish itself very well for years. How could the voter not reward this?

The explanation might be that SP’s story is not an easy one. The average Socialist Party voter is poorly educated, less happy, has more difficulty making ends meet, and seems to fit better into the PVV’s support base than that of GroenLinks-PvdA.

Immigration was also an important topic in this election. It is a topic on which the Freedom Party can score well with a simple, straightforward story: according to the party, almost all problems are the result of immigration.

Equality is one of the core values ​​of socialism. Therefore, it is not an option for SP to come up with a story like PVV’s. The result is that the party does not always speak clearly on topics such as asylum and climate. Topics that other protest parties talk about very openly.

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On issues where the Socialist Party is in the lead, other parties win. The party often turns out to be right, but doesn’t get it. In 2017, the Socialist Party was the only party to call for raising the minimum wage. It is now included in almost all election manifestos. The role of former MP Rinski Litten in exposing the benefits issue was also not rewarded with seats.

“Yes, hello, where have you been in recent years?”, Marinissen said in the first phase of the campaign to other parties that suddenly felt concerned about insecurity, while these other parties, in her opinion, bore part of the responsibility for the issue.

Recently, Marinissen was almost hugged to death during the RTL debate by other party leaders who were very enthusiastic about the community care center in Os. While it was the SP who ensured this happened.

Since the beginning of her leadership in 2017, Marinissen lost the election for the seventh time last night. The party leader did not make any statements about her position on the evening of the results. “It is up to the party,” she said. The question is whether a leadership change alone will be enough to lift the Socialist Party out of recession.

Here you will find results in all municipalities.

You can read more about the elections here:

PVV has never been the largest in Brabant. Here you can read how it worked.

Here you will find an overview of the most important news related to the election results.