Welcome to the website of the Stadspartij (City Party) Leiden Ontzet. Who are we? And what does our party’s name mean? Well, you may have heard of, or even taken part in, Leidens Ontzet – the annual commemoration of the 1574 Relief of Leiden, on October 3rd. The word ‘Ontzet’ has a double meaning, however. It also means ‘dismayed’ or ‘horrified’. So, with our name we intend to communicate on the one hand that we are horrified at the current lack of effective governance of Leiden, while at the same time calling on citizens to bring about a new ‘relief’ – to win back their city from regents and bureaucrats who put residents second place to their own interests.
So who are the members of the Stadspartij? They are Leienaren (people from Leiden) who have lost confidence in the bungling and scheming of existing political parties. Leienaren who feel that local government behaves as if appointed by some power from on high rather than having been elected by the citizens. Local government that fails to solve the problems of the city, allowing them to become ever more pressing instead. We are Leienaren who are fed up with governors who distance themselves from their fellow-inhabitants and turn increasingly tyrannical. In their view, the population of the city is merely a tax resource.
Finally, we are the only party standing for election that regards the expat community as integral to life in the town. For this reason, we have created an English section to our website and have taken the trouble to translate our election manifesto. So you can understand local issues and how they affect you.
Please join our active citizens’ movement and support our programme. Vote LIJST 9 on March 3rd.
Should you wish to contribute your views on what the city needs - or on council politics and practices - please feel free to attend our weekly meeting. Almost without exception, this takes place on Monday nights at 20.00 hrs. Location: the Kijkhuiscafé, Vrouwenkerksteeg 10, Leiden.
Should you wish to be kept informed of our activities, please send an e-mail stating ‘newsletter’ in the subject heading to leiden.ontzet@gmail.com