Fmr. Labour MP calls for party's disbandment after "historic defeat"

Former PvdA parliamentarian Rob Oudkerk thinks the labor party should disband after what he calls a "historic defeat" in this election. The PvdA lost 29 parliamentary seats, compared to what the party had after the 2012 election, NOS reports.

"I think the PvdA should stop and consider its existence: what on earth are we still for? Maybe we should go to another social democratic movement", Oudkerk said to Radio Noord. He used former party SDAP as an example. "The party was previously abolished and from it came the PvdA. Maybe there will be a new social democratic movement, that knows how to bind people together."

PvdA chairman Hans Spekman said that he will not make the decision to step down, rather leaving it up to the party members, the Telegraaf reports.

Current PvdA Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen also responded to her party's loss by telling 1Limburg that she's had better mornings. "It is a hard blow and very bitter, but it is what it is", she said. Due to the results, she won't have a seat in parliament this term. She doesn't yet know what she will do next. "As long as negotiations are ongoing, I'll be working as outgoing minister."

PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher is still committed to continuing with the labor party, he said to ANP in The Hague, where party leaders are currently meeting. "I will try to rebuild", he said.