LEF – For the New Generation (, ), also known simply as LEF (), is a political party in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

focused on youth interests. The party participated in the 2023 House of Representatives elections with Daniël van Duijn as

lead candidate In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the candidate placed first on a party list. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government, and the party chair or party leader. Usage by country Neth ...

, but was unable to win a seat.

History

The party was founded by party leader Daniël van Duijn in 2020. It participated in the 2022 municipal election in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, but was unable to win a seat in either municipal council. The party participated in the

2023 Dutch general election Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025, but a snap election was ca ...

with Van Duijn as its

. The party received 5,053 votes, not enough for a seat. They chose to campaign solely by performing campaign stunts. One of these had Van Duijn paste the party's poster on the windows of the studio from which '' Buitenhof'' was being live broadcast, thereby interrupting an interview with

Party for the Animals The Party for the Animals ( , PvdD) is a List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare. The PvdD was founded in 2002 as a single-issue party for animal ...

party leader

Esther Ouwehand Esther Ouwehand (; born 10 June 1976) is a Dutch politician and former marketing manager serving as party leader, leader of the Party for the Animals (, PvdD) and its parliamentary group in the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Re ...

. While doing this, Van Duijn exclaimed: "Climate is more important than Omtzigt!". Van Duijn also interrupted the final

leaders' debate A leaders' debate or presidential debate is a public debate held during a general election campaign, where the candidates expose their political opinions and public policy proposals, and criticism of them, to potential voters. They are normally ...

before the elections by stepping up onto the stage, yelling accusations of 'old politics', and told

Dilan Yeşilgöz Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (; born 18 June 1977) is a Dutch politician who has served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2023. She also served as List of Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands, Minister of Ju ...

that her

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, is a party of the centre-right that tries to promote private enterprise and ...

party should 'never come to power again'. After this Van Duijn was arrested by police. He was released the next day, on the condition that he would stay away from the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

on results evening.

Ideology

The party program of the 2023 House of Representative elections listed several key points, such as the implementation of a

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

, citizen councils, lowering the

voting age A legal voting age is the minimum age that a person is allowed to Voting, vote in a democracy, democratic process. For General election, general elections around the world, the right to vote is restricted to adults, and most nations use 18 year ...

to under 18, and compensating students with

student debt Student debt refers to the debt incurred by an individual to pay for education-related expenses. This debt is most commonly assumed to pay for tertiary education, such as university. The amount loaned or the loan agreement is often referred to as ...

. The party furthermore has a general focus on the younger generation, and advocates for stronger

climate action Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand o ...

. Party leader Van Duijn made the news when it became clear that he had the party's most important program points tattooed on his forearm by renowned tattoo artist

Henk Schiffmacher Hendrikus Johannes Everhardus "Henk" Schiffmacher (born 22 March 1952), also known as Hanky Panky, is a Dutch tattoo artist. He is considered an expert within the field of body decoration, having curated exhibitions, written books, and presented ...

. It concerned the following points, regarding the 2022 municipal elections in

and

: * Enter basic income () * Loosening real estate () * Exciting nightlife () * Mental peace () * Drugs safe () * Climate positive city () * Set up citizen councils () * Slow down the city () * Quality time () * Youth at the table ()

Election results

House of Representatives

Municipal elections

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2020 establishments in the Netherlands Political parties established in 2020 Political youth organizations Political parties in the Netherlands Youth politics Youth rights in Europe Political parties supporting universal basic income