International

At the 28th conference of the Dutch Socialist Party, the SP established its election programme and the list of candidates for the Lower House elections of 22 November. Hundreds of delegates from the various fractions of the SP came together to make the final adjustments to the election programme. 

Filling up at the pump and a ticket for public transport have become tremendously expensive. The Dutch Socialist Party wants the cost of transportation to be reduced for both those who drive cars and those who rely on public transport. 

This year, the Dutch Socialist Party dubbed the State of Nation Hotline (which people can call in response to the State of the Nation address) as the ‘Health Care Hotline’. People who can no longer afford the own-risk deductible or are struggling to pay for home care, for example, were able to reach the Health Care Hotline until 6:00 PM. SP Parliament Members and care providers were standing by, ready to listen to their concerns and stories.

The number of people living in poverty will rise again next year. The outgoing Cabinet is failing to keep its promises, not solving problems and only continuing to pick up the pieces. The Dutch Socialist Party wants to see structural solutions that will ensure people can make ends meet.

Today, nearly 2000 people gathered to stand up for the Netherlands during the “Prinsjesdag” Protest in The Hague. Days before “Prinsjesdag”, the Dutch Socialist Party wanted to steer the outgoing Cabinet’s plans in another, more social direction.

There were years of actions by the SP together with parents from the benefits scandal and debates by Renske Leijten and other SP members in the Lower House. And now, finally, a parliamentary inquiry into the government's fraud policy has started. The inquiry committee began their public hearings this week. The first interviews were held with parents that were harmed in the benefits scandal: Dulce Goncalves-Tavaresen and Gerda and Jurgen Deceuninck.

The SP wants to raise the minimum wage to 16 euros per hour. We want more powers to expropriate property bosses in case of long-term vacancies and we will tackle the market forces in the public sector. SP leader Lilian Marijnissen says the coming elections will be a battle of ideas.

This week marks 78 years since the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by nuclear bombs. The global impact was enormous, as the movie Oppenheimer shows. The creator of the bomb realised all too well: these weapons must never be used again.
However, the number of states possessing nuclear weapons and the amount of nuclear weapons has grown enormously. Attempts to ban nuclear weapons have been unsuccessful. With the war in Ukraine, Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons several times. It is time for new initiatives.

The party council of the SP has elected Lilian Marijnissen as their leading candidate for the upcoming Lower House elections. The party is pleased that Lilian wants to be our leader. Her enthusiasm and commitment are amazing and she knows what she is talking about. The Netherlands needs new, honest politics to rebuild the country and we are proud that Lilian will lead the way.