Editing Labour Party (Netherlands) (section)

== History ==
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2017}}

=== Early years (1946–1965) ===
[[File:Willem Drees 1958.jpg|thumb|left|[[Willem Drees]], co-founder, party leader (1946–1958) and Prime Minister (1948–1958)]]
During the [[Netherlands in World War II|German occupation of the Netherlands]] in [[World War II]], a group of prominent Dutchmen of all democratic political ideologies were interned as hostages in [[Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel]] by the German occupation authorities. They came to the consensus that the pre-war fragmentation of Dutch political life, known as "[[Pillarisation]]", should be overcome after the war in a so-called [[Breakthrough (Dutch political history)|Breakthrough]]. These people formed the [[Nederlandse Volksbeweging|Dutch People's Movement]] (NVB) immediately after the war ended in 1945. The new movement promoted the foundation of the Labour Party on 9 February 1946 through a merger of three pre-war parties, namely the [[Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands)|Social Democratic Workers' Party]] (SDAP), the [[social liberal]] [[Free-thinking Democratic League]] (VDB) and the progressive [[Protestant]] [[Christian Democratic Union (Netherlands)|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU). They were joined by individuals from [[Catholic]] [[Dutch resistance|resistance group]] Christofoor, as well as some of the more progressive members of the Protestant [[Christian Historical Union]] (CHU).<ref name="DNPP">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rug.nl/research/dnpp/politieke-partijen/pvda/geschiedenis/|title=Partijgeschiedenis|first=Philip|last=Van Praag|language=nl|work=Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke partijen|access-date=17 August 2024|date=13 October 2023}}</ref> The founding convention was chaired by NVB member [[Willem Banning]].

Despite its ambitions to force a breakthrough, the electorate returned to their pillars. Lead by [[Willem Drees]] in the [[1946 Dutch general election|1946 general election]], it won 29 seats, two less than its predecessors had won in [[1937 Dutch general election|1937]]. During the [[1946 Dutch cabinet formation|1946 cabinet formation]], the [[first Beel cabinet]] was formed with the [[Catholic People's Party]] (KVP) and the PvdA ([[Roman/Red]]). In 1948, some of the left-liberal members, led by former VDB leader [[Pieter Oud]], left the PvdA after concluding it had become too socialist for their liking. Together with the [[Freedom Party (Netherlands)|Freedom Party]], they formed the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] (VVD), a [[Conservative liberalism|conservative liberal]] party.

Between 1948 and 1958, the PvdA led centre-left<ref>Decolonising the Caribbean Dutch policies in a Comparative Perspective By Gert Oostindie, Inge Klinkers, P.234</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=p1SFCwAAQBAJ&dq=and+in+the+same+year+it+entered+into+a+centre-left+coalition+with+the+catholic+peoples+party&pg=PA119 Company Financial Reporting A Historical and Comparative Study of the Dutch Regulatory Process By Stephen A Zeff, Frans van der Wel, C. Camfferman, 2016, P.119]</ref> [[coalition government]]s with the KVP, and combinations of VVD, ARP and CHU, with the PvdA's [[Willem Drees]] as prime minister. The KVP and the PvdA together had a large majority in parliament. Under his leadership the Netherlands recovered from the war and began to build its [[welfare state]], and [[Indonesia]] became [[Indonesian National Revolution|independent]].

After the cabinet crisis of 1958, the PvdA was replaced by the VVD. The PvdA was in opposition until 1965. The electoral support of PvdA voters began to decline.

=== 1965–1989 ===
[[File:Joop den Uyl 1975.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Joop den Uyl]], party leader (1966–1986) and Prime Minister (1973–1977)]]
In 1965, a conflict in the centre-right cabinet made continuation of the government impossible. The three [[Confessionalism (politics)|confessional]] parties turned toward the PvdA. Together they formed the [[Cals cabinet]], with KVP leader [[Jo Cals]] as prime minister. This cabinet too was short-lived and conflict-ridden. The conflicts culminated in the fall of the Cals cabinet over [[economic policy]].

Meanwhile, a younger generation was attempting to gain control of the PvdA. A group of young PvdA members, calling themselves the [[New Left (Netherlands)|New Left]], changed the party. The New Left believed the party should become oriented towards the [[new social movements]], adopting their anti-parliamentary strategies and their issues, such as [[Feminist movement|women's liberation]], [[Environmentalism|environmental conservation]] and [[Third World]] development. Prominent New Left members were [[Jan Nagel]], [[André van der Louw]] and [[Bram Peper]]. One of their early victories followed the fall of the Cals cabinet. The party Congress adopted a motion that made it impossible for the PvdA to govern with the KVP and its Protestant allies. In response to the growing power of the New Left group, a group of older, [[centrist]] party members, led by Willem Drees' son, [[Willem Drees Jr.]], founded the New Right. They split in 1970, after it was clear that they had lost the conflict with the New Left, and founded a new moderate social democratic party, [[Democratic Socialists '70]] (DS'70).

Under the New Left, the PvdA started a strategy of polarisation, striving for a cabinet based on a progressive majority in parliament. In order to form that cabinet, the PvdA allied itself with smaller progressive parties such as the [[Democrats 66|Democrats '66]] (D'66) and the [[Political Party of Radicals]] (PPR). The alliance was called the Progressive Accord (PAK). In the [[1971 Dutch general election|1971]] and [[1972 Dutch general election|1972 general elections]], these three parties promised to form a cabinet with a radical common programme after the elections. They were unable to gain a majority in either election. In 1971, they were kept out of cabinet, and the party of former PvdA members, DS'70, became a coalition partner in the [[First Biesheuvel cabinet]].

In the 1972 elections, neither the PvdA and its allies nor the KVP and its allies were able to gain a majority. The two sides were forced to work together. [[Joop den Uyl]], the leader of the PvdA, led the cabinet. The cabinet was an [[Cabinet of the Netherlands|extra-parliamentary cabinet]] composed of members of the three progressive parties, the KVP and the ARP. The cabinet attempted to radically reform government, society and the economy, and a wide range of progressive social reforms were enacted during its time in office, such as significant increases in welfare payments and the indexation of benefits and the minimum wage to the cost of living.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferrera |first1=Maurizio |last2=Rhodes |first2=Martin |title=Recasting European Welfare States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2exQnhFNyYC&pg=PA235 |publisher=Psychology Press |date=1 January 2000 |isbn=9780714651040 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

The PvdA also faced economic decline and was riddled with personal and ideological conflicts. The relationship between Prime Minister Den Uyl and the KVP [[Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Dries Van Agt]] was particularly problematic. These conflict culminated when the cabinet fell just before the [[1977 Dutch general election|1977 general election]]. The PvdA came first in that election, but the ideological and personal conflict between Van Agt and Den Uyl prevented the formation of a new centre-left cabinet. After very long cabinet formation talks, the [[Christian Democratic Appeal]] (CDA), itself a new [[Christian democratic]] political formation composed of KVP, CHU and ARP, formed a government, based on a very narrow majority, with the VVD. The PvdA was left in opposition.

In the [[1981 Dutch general election|1981 general election]], the incumbent CDA–VVD cabinet lost its majority. The CDA remained the largest party, but it was forced to co-operate with the PvdA and D'66 (the PPR had left the alliance, after losing in the 1977 election). In the new cabinet led by Van Agt, Den Uyl returned to cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister. The personal and ideological conflict between Van Agt and Den Uyl culminated in the fall of the cabinet just months after it was formed. The VVD and the CDA together had a majority in the [[1982 Dutch general election|1982 general election]] and retained this in the [[1986 Dutch general election|1986 general election]]. The PvdA was left in opposition. During this period the party began to reform. Den Uyl retired from politics in 1986, appointing former [[trade union]] leader [[Wim Kok]] as his successor.

[[File:Wim Kok 1994.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Wim Kok]], [[Third Way]] party leader (1986–2001) and Prime Minister (1994–2002)]]

=== 1989–2010 ===
After the [[1989 Dutch general election|1989 general election]], the PvdA returned to cabinet together with the CDA. Kok became Deputy Prime Minister to CDA leader [[Ruud Lubbers]]. The PvdA accepted the major economic reforms of the previous Lubbers cabinets, including [[privatisation]] of [[Government-owned corporation|public enterprise]]s and [[Welfare reform|reform of the welfare state]]. They continued these policies in this cabinet. The cabinet faced heavy protest from the unions and saw major political conflict within the PvdA itself.

In the [[1994 Dutch general election|1994 general election]], the PvdA–CDA coalition lost its majority in parliament; the PvdA, however, emerged as the biggest party. Kok formed a government together with the conservative liberal VVD and social liberal D66. This so-called [[Purple (government)|purple government]] was a political novelty, because it was the first since 1918 without any ministers from the CDA or its predecessors. The [[First Kok cabinet]] continued the Lubbers-era economic reforms, but combined this with a progressive outlook on ethical questions and promises of political reform. Kok became a very popular Prime Minister; he was not a partisan figure but combined successful [[Technocracy (bureaucratic)|technocratic]] policies with the charisma of a national leader. In the [[1998 Dutch general election|1998 general election]], the cabinet was rewarded for its stewardship of the economy. The PvdA and the VVD increased their seat counts, at the expense of D66; the [[Second Kok cabinet]] was formed.

Kok retired from politics, leaving the leadership of the party to his preferred successor [[Ad Melkert]]. The PvdA was expected to perform very well in the [[2002 Dutch general election|2002 general election]]; however, the political rise of [[Pim Fortuyn]] frustrated these hopes. The PvdA lost the 2002 election, and the party's parliamentary representation fell from 45 seats to 23. The loss was blamed on the uncharismatic new leader Melkert, the perceived arrogance of the PvdA and the inability to answer the [[right-wing populist]] issues Fortuyn raised, especially [[immigration]] and [[Social integration|integration]]. Melkert resigned as party leader and was replaced by [[Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven]]. The PvdA was kept out of cabinet. The government formed by CDA, VVD and the [[Pim Fortuyn List]] (LPF) fell after a very short period.

[[File:Bos Dutch politician kabinet Balkenende IV.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Wouter Bos]], party leader (2002–2010)]]

Meanwhile, [[Wouter Bos]], [[Undersecretary]] in the Second Kok cabinet, was elected leader of the PvdA in a ballot among PvdA members, being elected closely to [[Jouke de Vries]]. He started to democratise the party organisation and began an ideological reorientation. In the [[2003 Dutch general election|2003 general election]], Wouter Bos managed to regain almost all seats lost in the previous election, and the PvdA was once again the second largest party in the Netherlands, only slightly smaller than the CDA. Personal and ideological conflicts between Bos and the CDA leader [[Jan Peter Balkenende]] prevented the formation of a CDA–PvdA cabinet. Instead, the PvdA was kept out of government by the formation of cabinet of the CDA, the VVD, and D66, the latter being former allies of PvdA. In the [[2006 Dutch municipal elections|2006 municipal elections]], the renewed PvdA performed very well. The PvdA became by far the largest party nationally, while the three governing parties lost a considerable number of seats in municipal councils.

The PvdA lost the race for [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Prime Minister]] to the CDA after suffering a loss of nine seats in the [[2006 Dutch general election|2006 general election]]. The PvdA now held only 33 seats, losing many votes to the [[Socialist Party (Netherlands)|Socialist Party]] (SP). The PvdA had previously distanced themselves from the idea of a voting bloc on the left. It did, however, join the [[fourth Balkenende cabinet]] on 22 February 2007, in which Wouter Bos became [[Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)|minister of Finance]]. In the aftermath of the lost elections, the entire party executive stepped down on 26 April 2007. On Saturday 20 February 2010, the Labour Party withdrew from the government after arguments over the Dutch role in [[Afghanistan]].

=== 2010–2023 ===
The then-mayor of Amsterdam, [[Job Cohen]], took Wouter Bos' place as leader of the PvdA following the latter quitting politics. In the [[2010 Dutch general election|2010 general election]], the PvdA won 30 seats, a loss of three, and was narrowly overtaken by the VVD. After the election, a 'purple-plus coalition' was considered, which would have required the participation of [[GroenLinks]], in addition to the VVD, PvdA and D66 – but talks broke down and the PvdA entered opposition.

[[File:Lodewijk Asscher 2015 (1).jpg|thumb|left|[[Lodewijk Asscher]], party leader (2016–2021)]]
Cohen resigned as leader in February 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-labour-party-leader-resigns|title=Dutch Labour Party leader resigns|website=RNW Media|access-date=8 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808095205/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-labour-party-leader-resigns|archive-date=8 August 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Diederik Samsom]] was subsequently elected the party leader. In the [[2012 Dutch general election|2012 general election]], the Labour Party won 38 seats, a gain of eight, defying initial predictions that the [[Socialist Party (Netherlands)|Socialist Party]] would overtake it. Following the election the party entered a governing coalition with the VVD under [[Mark Rutte]], with Labour's [[Lodewijk Asscher]] becoming Deputy Prime Minister.

In December 2016, Samson was defeated by [[Lodewijk Asscher]] in a party leadership election. In the [[2017 Dutch general election|2017 general election]], the PvdA suffered the biggest defeat in Dutch electoral history, receiving only 5.7% of the votes and losing 29 of its 38 seats. Asscher did not resign from his post, claiming the defeat was his predecessor's responsibility. The party experienced a degree of revival in 2019, obtaining the most votes in [[2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands|that year's European Parliament election]]. This marked the first time the PvdA had finished first in a national election since [[1998 Dutch general election|1998]].

Ahead of the [[2021 Dutch general election|2021 general election]], Asscher resigned from the party leadership due to his part in the [[Dutch childcare benefits scandal|childcare benefits scandal]].<ref>{{cite web|date=14 January 2021|title=Labour leader Lodewijk Asscher quits over childcare benefit criticism|url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/01/labour-leader-lodewijk-asscher-quits-over-childcare-benefit-criticism/|access-date=29 January 2021|website=DutchNews.nl|language=en-GB}}</ref> He was replaced as leader and lead candidate by [[Lilianne Ploumen]], who became the party's first permanent female leader.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 January 2021|title=Lilianne Ploumen succeeds Lodewijk Asscher as Labour party leader|url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/01/lilianne-ploumen-succeeds-lodewijk-asscher-as-labour-party-leader/|access-date=29 January 2021|website=DutchNews.nl|language=en-GB}}</ref> Following the election, the PvdA participated unsuccessfully in the [[2021 Dutch cabinet formation]] in conjunction with GroenLinks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/09/minority-coalition-looms-after-rutte-swipes-left-on-pvda-gl-pact/|title = Minority coalition looms after Rutte swipes left on PvdA-GL pact|date = September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nltimes.nl/2021/09/28/breakthrough-cabinet-formation-talks-definitive-conclusions-wednesday|title=No breakthrough in cabinet formation talks; "Definitive conclusions" Wednesday}}</ref> Ploumen later left, claiming she was unsuited for the leadership. Ploumen was replaced as parliamentary leader by [[Attje Kuiken]].

=== Co-operation with GroenLinks (2023–) ===
Following the [[2023 Dutch Senate election|2023 Senate election]] in 30 May 2023, PvdA and GroenLinks deepened their co-operation by forming a joint parliamentary group in the senate, becoming the second-largest group behind the [[Farmer–Citizen Movement]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Nieuwe Eerste Kamer: coalitie heeft ook met PvdA/GL meerderheid, BBB grootste |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2477091-nieuwe-eerste-kamer-coalitie-heeft-ook-met-pvda-gl-meerderheid-bbb-grootste |website=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]] |access-date=31 May 2023 |language=nl |date=30 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Grote stap voor PvdA, GroenLinks: verder samen in Eerste Kamer |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2432277-grote-stap-voor-pvda-groenlinks-verder-samen-in-eerste-kamer |website=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]] |access-date=26 March 2023 |language=nl |date=11 June 2022}}</ref>

On 17 July 2023, the party and Green Left announced that they would contest the [[2023 Dutch general election|2023 general election]] with a common policy programme and joint electoral list.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/dutch-greens-labour-party-agree-on-joint-election-programme/ | title=Dutch Greens, Labour Party, agree on joint election programme | date=18 July 2023 }}</ref> The joint parliamentary group became the second largest with 25 seats, but did not become part of the coalition.