Three more Dutch political parties have published their draft manifestos ahead of the March 2021 general election.

Coalition party ChristenUnie is calling for a shake up of the tax system in its plans, saying extra benefits to help pay for housing, childcare and healthcare should be replaced by tax cuts.

ChristenUnie, which has five seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament, is the last of the four coalition parties to publish its programme ahead of next year’s vote.

As well as simplifying the tax system, the party also wants to scrap mortgage tax relief and put the minimum wage up 10%.

The fundamentalist Protestant SGP, which believes the Netherlands should be governed  ‘entirely on the basis of the ordinances of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures’, says that although the Netherlands should remain within the EU, the euro has had its day.

An alternative for the euro will need to be found, because the single currency is not economically or financially sustainable in the long term, the party says.

The SGP manifesto also includes a focus on the classic family, which, the party says, is under fire. Families with a single breadwinner should pay less tax and, to encourage larger families, the birth of a fourth child should be rewarded with a €1,000 payout.

The SGP has three seats in the current parliament and will win between two and four next March, according to the most recent poll of polls.

50Plus

50Plus, the pensioners’ party is calling for higher pensions, says the state pension age should be put back to 65 and argues that pensions should once again be index linked to inflation.

Like other parties, 50Plus also backs bringing back student grants, a rise in the minimum wage and the introduction of free childcare for everyone.

The party, which has three seats in the current lower house, has been beset by splits and leadership issues in recent months and may find itself out of parliament altogether if the latest opinion polls are to be believed.