50Plus

50Plus (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvɛiftəxplʏs]; stylised as 50PLUS and abbreviated 50+) is a political party in the Netherlands that advocates pensioners' interests with a centrist political line. The party was founded in 2009 by Maurice Koopman, Alexander Münninghoff and Jan Nagel.

The party first participated in the 2011 provincial elections, in which it won 9 provincial council seats, allowing it to be represented in the Senate by Nagel. Under lead candidate Henk Krol, the party entered the House of Representatives for the first time at the 2012 general election. On 6 May 2021, party leader Liane den Haan, its sole member in the House of Representatives, left to sit as an Independent following an internal dispute. The party re-entered the parliament under the leadership of Jan Struijs after the 2025 general election.

History

2009–2011

The party was founded under the name Onafhankelijke Ouderen en Kinderen Unie (Independent Elderly and Children Union) on 13 August 2009, formally succeeding the Partij voor Rechtvaardigheid, Daadkracht en Vooruitgang (Party for Justice, Vigour and Progress). It was an initiative of Jan Nagel together with Maurice Koopman and Alexander Münninghoff. The target audience was initially both young people and the elderly, but soon the party decided to position itself as a party for seniors. The party decided not to participate in the 2010 general election, which came to early. On 9 October 2010, the party changes it name to 50Plus, after polling by Maurice de Hond showed it to be most appealing.

The party participated in all twelve provinces during the 2011 provincial elections, winning 9 seats. Leading up to the 2011 Senate election, 50Plus made an agreement with the Independent Politics Netherlands (OSF). The regional parties had too little seats in the Provincial councils to collectively get a seat in the Senate, and two representatives of 50Plus promised to vote for the OSF to help them gain one. In return for this, 50Plus member Kees de Lange would be the OSF's lead candidate on the electoral list. De Lange left the party in 2012 after a conflict with Nagel and Henk Krol, a board member and leader of the party in the Provincial Council of North Brabant, over the party website.

2012–2015

The party participated in the 2012 general election with Krol as the lead candidate. The party won two seats, which were taken by Krol and Norbert Klein.

Leadership of 50Plus decided not to participate in the 2014 municipal elections and prevented discussions about this at the party congress in late 2013. In response, a few 50Plus members founded the Ouderen Politiek Actief[nl] (OPA) to participate in municipal elections. On 20 September 2013, OPA founder Dick Schouw and his partner, 50Plus board member Adriana Hernández, were expelled from the party for "repeated violation of party-established boundaries" and "breach of integrity" respectively. Krol and Nagel then opposed the expulsion. In response to their opposition, three board members resigned, including chairman Willem Holthuizen[nl]. The expulsion of Schouw and Hernández was converted into a suspension and fully reversed in November.

On 4 October 2013, he newspaper de Volkskrant revealed that Krol had not paid pension premiums when he was the owner of the Gay Krant. Krol resigned the same day as member of parliament. He was succeeded as parliamentary leader by Klein and as member of parliament by Martine Baay-Timmerman.

For the 2014 European Parliament election, the party selected as lead candidate Toine Manders, a member of the European Parliament for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). A few weeks before the election, NRC Handelsblad revealed that Manders was the only Dutch member of the European Parliament who had not left a controversial European pension fund. The party failed to get a seat by 3,000 seats.

On 28 May 2014, Baay-Timmerman was expelled from the parliamentary group by Klein due to an 'irreparable breach of trust.' Subsequently, the 50Plus board withdrew its confidence in Klein. Both MPs claimed to represent 50Plus, with Baay assured of the party's support. As a result, there was both the 50Plus/Baay-Timmerman and the 50Plus/Klein parliamentary group. On 10 September 2014, Krol returned to the House of Representatives because Baay-Timmerman went on sick leave and later did not return. On 13 November of that year, Klein continued as an independent MP and founded the Vrijzinnige Partij.

2016–2019

For the general election of March 2017, Krol was again chosen as the lead candidate. The candidate list faced much criticism and led to members leaving. The criticism was mainly focused on the high placement of candidates who had only recently become members or active, such as former TV presenter Léonie Sazias and former chair of the ABVA-KABO Corrie van Brenk. The list was eventually approved by a majority. At the start of the campaign, the party was polling at ten seats in some surveys, but ultimately secured four. According to their scientific bureau, voters were put off by the chaotic campaign. The four seats were taken by Krol, Martin van Rooijen, Van Brenk, and Sazias.

In May 2018, a long-simmering conflict within the party's board erupted. Seven of the eight members of the main board resigned, followed by the resignation of chairman Jan Zoetelief. Geert Dales became the new chairman.

2020

In February 2020, Krol proposed the idea of nominating Dales for a position in the House of Representatives. Other party members disagreed with this. This was followed by a period in which the involved parties treated each other poorly in various ways. Nagel announced he would file a police report against Krol for committing a criminal offense and all 50Plus members of the Senate and House of Representatives, except Krol, demanded Dales' immediate resignation as chairman. The parliamentarians accused Dales of an "autocratic and undemocratic style of leadership" and "rude language". On 26 April 2020, Dales announced he would step down. On 3 May 2020, Krol left the faction but remained an independent member of the House of Representatives. Together with Femke Merel van Kooten-Arissen (who had split from the PvdD and joined the party 50Plus, but not the parliamentary group), he temporarily formed a faction and the Party for the Future. On the same day, Van Brenk took over the parliamentary leadership from Krol.

After Krol's departure, Dales announced he would remain chairman of 50Plus until 1 August 2020. However, he eventually resigned on 24 May of that year. After Dales' resignation, Bert Kannegieter became acting chairman. He remained in this position until 1 August 2020, when Jan Nagel was again elected chairman at the party congress after a digital vote.

On 2 June 2020, the only 50Plus Member of the European Parliament, Toine Manders, switched to the CDA delegation.

Liane den Haan, director of the Algemene Nederlandse Bond voor Ouderen, was nominated by the board in August 2020 as the lead candidate for the next general election, as she was deemed by chairman Nagel to be well-versed in senior citizens' issues and capable of debating well. However, the choice of Den Haan was not without controversy: as ANBO director, she was accused of dictatorial behavior and had also expressed support for a revision of the pension system, which 50Plus strongly opposed. Furthermore, she had not previously been a member of 50Plus. On 3 October 2020, party members elected Den Haan as the lead candidate. Out of dissatisfaction with the choice of Den Haan and the manner in which it was made, several prominent party members left, including former party chairman Zoetelief and the chairman of the programme committee Rob de Brouwer.

2021–present

In the March 2021 general election, the party lost three seats. Den Haan, as the lead candidate, took the only remaining seat. On 6 May 2021, she left 50Plus out of dissatisfaction and took her seat with her. In the Provincial Council elections, 50Plus retained eight seats. After the senate election in May 2023, Van Rooijen remained as a senator. On 24 June 2023, Jorien van den Herik was elected as the new party chairman during the members' meeting.

For the November 2023 general election, the board asked former presenter Catherine Keyl, but she declined. The board then nominated Ellen Verkoelen, a provincial council member in South Holland and a city council member in Rotterdam. Former party chairman Gerard van Hooft put himself forward as candidate. Due to conflicts with the board, he was expelled shortly before the party congress on 30 September 2023, after the court had overturned a previous expulsion. When he still showed up, chaos ensued. At the request of the board, Van Hooft was removed by the police, and the congress was adjourned without electing a lead candidate or establishing an election program. The court then overturned Van Hooft's expulsion again on 6 October. During a digital vote on 7 October – two days before the election deadline – the party elected Van Hooft as the lead candidate with 51% of the votes. Verkoelen then left the party and founded the Young Seniors Union (JOU). In the election, 50Plus did not receive enough votes for a seat.

In the October 2025 general election, 50Plus was the first party since the Second World War that re-entered parliament under the same name. Jan Struijs was the lead candidate and the second seat they won was taken by Van Brenk.

Ideology

50Plus specifically champions the interests of Dutch people aged fifty and above. It serves as a senior citizens party wishing to prioritize vulnerable elderly people, early retirees and those who may experience ageism in society or the workplace. The party has listed its core priorities as placing the retirement age back to 65 years, discounted rate for pensions fixed at 4% or based on realised return, abolition of inheritance tax, the establishment of a state bank and structural tax reductions for pensioners. The party is opposed to interference by the European Union over Dutch pension policy and supports reducing certain powers of the EU, and argues EU expansion can only take place by democratic consent of the people.

Election results

House of Representatives

Senate

European Parliament

Provincial councils

Organization

Leadership

Representation

Members of the House of Representatives

Senators

See also

• Union 55+, Defunct Dutch pensioners' interests party active from 1992 until 1998.
• General Elderly Alliance, Defunct Dutch pensioners' interests party active from 1993 until 1998.

Notes

• Boerboom, Joep (2021). (PDF) (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Boom. ISBN 978-90-244-4337-6.