industriepartijen

Industriepartijen are political organisations that represent the interests of industrial sectors, such as manufacturing, mining and heavy engineering. Their main objective is to influence national policy on matters that directly affect industry, including taxation, subsidies, labour relations and regulatory frameworks. The term is most commonly associated with Dutch politics, where several parties have historically advocated for industrial development.

The earliest 20th‑century industry parties emerged in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, when manufacturers sought to counter what they perceived as undue influence from socialist and agrarian movements. In the Netherlands, the first formally organised “Industriepartij” was established in the 1920s, and similar parties appeared in Germany, France and Belgium. During the interwar period these parties generally promoted pro–industrial policies, flexible labour laws and reduced state intervention.

Following the Second World War, the Dutch Industriepartij gained limited electoral support but never entered parliament. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, economic restructuring and the rise of large, diversified corporates made single‑issue industrial parties less relevant, and most either dissolved or merged into broader national parties. In contemporary politics, former industriepartijen are largely replaced by business‑interest lobbying groups rather than formal political parties.