Fledgling political party 50Plus would win 12 seats in the 150-seat parliament if there were a general election tomorrow, according to a new Maurice de Hond opinion poll.

The party, which focuses on the over-50s and the impact of government policy on spending power, won two seats at the September general election. In last week’s De Hond poll it was on nine.

This week’s political debate has focused largely on the implications of government cuts on the spending power of older people and on the extra payments wealthy pensioners in nursing homes have been told to make.

The ruling VVD lost one seat and its coalition partner Labour was down two. This means the coalition would win just 49 seats if there were an election tomorrow, the De Hond poll shows. They currently hold 79 seats between them.