Strong Local Drenthe

Strong Local Drenthe (Dutch: Sterk Lokaal Drenthe, pronounced [ˈstɛr(ə)k loːˈkaːl ˈdrɛntə]) is a regionalist political party in the Netherlands, a partnership of various local political parties in the province of Drenthe. The party is represented in the Provincial Council in that province and is a member of Independent Politics Netherlands.

Strong Local Drenthe Sterk Lokaal Drenthe
Leader	Alfred Schoenmaker
Chairperson	John Uffels
Founded	19 December 2014; 10 years ago (2014-12-19)
Headquarters	Emmen, Netherlands
Ideology	Regionalism
Political position	Centre
National affiliation	Independent Politics Netherlands
Provincial Council of Drenthe	1 / 43
Website
sterklokaal.nl
Politics of Netherlands Political parties Elections

History

Under the name Strong Local (Dutch: Sterk Lokaal), the party first participated in the elections for the Provincial Council of Drenthe in 2015 with Aimée van der Ham as lead candidate and won one seat.^[1] This seat was retained at the 2019 Dutch provincial elections. After the elections, the Strong Local and 50PLUS factions decided to merge into Strong Local Drenthe, which would give the party two seats,^[2] but the 50PLUS faction leader still decided to continue independently, starting the new party OpDrenthe.^[3] Strong Local did change its name to Strong Local Drenthe. The merger plans led to some unrest within the party: Assen alderman Janna Booij decided to cancel her membership of Strong Local, and the group leader of Strong Local left the Provincial Council.^[4][5]

The party retained its seat after the 2023 provincial elections. It is represented by Independent Politics Netherlands in the Dutch Senate.

Ideology

Some of Strong Local Drenthe's key points are:^[6]

• Fewer rules for small and medium-sized businesses
• Less interference from the province with the municipalities
• Better accessibility by improving the N34, the N48 and the Zwolle-Emmen railway line
• Fiber optic connections throughout the province
• Less focus on wind turbines and more on other sustainable forms of energy

Election results

Provincial elections

Election year	Drenthe
	# of overall votes	% of overall vote	# of overall seats won	+/–
2015	7,057[7]	3.64%	1 / 41	New
2019	9,344[8]	4.09%	1 / 41
2023	7,485[9]	2.84%	1 / 43

References

1. "Nieuwe partij Provinciale Statenverkiezingen: Sterk Lokaal" [New party States-Provincial elections: Strong Local]. Wakker Emmen (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
2. "50Plus en Sterk Lokaal samen verder in de Staten" [50Plus and Strong Local continue together in the States]. RTV Drenthe (in Dutch). 1 May 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
3. "Frank Duut start eigen party: OpDrenthe" [Frank Duut starts own party: OpDrenthe]. RTV Drenthe (in Dutch). 26 June 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
4. "Wethouder Assen zegt lidmaatschap Sterk Lokaal op" [Alderman Assen cancels membership of Strong Local]. RTV Drenthe (in Dutch). 11 May 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
5. "Statenlid Douwe Oosterveen stapt op bij Sterk Lokaal" [States-Provincial member Douwe Oosterveen is resigning from Strong Local]. RTV Drenthe (in Dutch). 21 June 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
6. "Speerpunten Sterk Lokaal Drenthe" [Spearheads Strong Local Drenthe]. Sterk Lokaal Drenthe (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
7. "Provinciale Staten 18 maart 2015" [States-Provincial 18 March 2015]. Verkiezingsuitslagen.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
8. "Verkiezingsuitslagen voor de provincie Drenthe" [Election results for the province of Drenthe]. Alle Cijfers (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
9. "Model P 22-2. Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de provinciale staten. De Verkiezingen van de leden van de provinciale staten van Drenthe" [Model P 22-2. Official report of the election result of the states-provincial. The Elections of the members of the states-provincial of Drenthe] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.

External links

• Official website