Christian Social Party (Netherlands)

The Christian Social Party (Christelijk-Sociale Partij, CSP) was a Christian socialist political party in the Netherlands. The CSP played a minor role in Dutch politics and is historically linked to the Labour Party.

Party history
The CSP was founded in 1907 by former members of the conservative reformed Christian Historical Union. In the 1918 general election, the first using a system of proportional representation and universal manhood suffrage, the restriction to get into the House of Representatives was relatively low, one needed more than half of a percent of the vote to be elected. Consequently, the CSP was elected with only 8,000 votes (that is 0.6% of the vote). The CSP MP Adolf van der Laar played a minor role in Dutch politics. In the 1922 general election, the electoral threshold was raised, and the CSP was unable to maintain its seat. In the 1925 general election, the party campaigned as the Protestant People's Party (Protestantse Volkspartij, PVP). In 1926, the CSP founded the Christian Democratic Union with former members of the Christian Democratic Party and the League of Christian Socialists.

Ideology and issues
CSP was both a social democratic and a conservative Christian party. CSP was a reformist party and rejected class conflict. The party was anti-papist and rejected the cooperation between the Protestant Christian Historical Union and the Catholic General League.

Its program combined conservative Protestant proposals with social democratic ones. Among the social democratic proposals were nationalization of core industries, workers' councils in companies and profit sharing. Among the conservative proposals was the proposal to financially privilege the Dutch Reformed Church to maintain the Protestant identity of the Netherlands. A notable proposal, for the 1910s, was to enact legislation against the pollution of soils, water and air.

Representation
This table shows the election results of the CSP in elections to the House of Representatives, the Senate and the States-Provincial, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker, the party's top candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.

Provincial and municipal government
The party held several seats in municipal councils and in the Gelderland, Friesland and Overijssel provincial councils.

Electorate
The CSP had a limited support, which it drew from Protestants from lower classes.

International comparison
The CSP is as Christian socialist party comparable to the members of the International League of Religious Socialists.