| Country: | Netherlands |
| Previous Election: | 1967 |
| Next Election: | 1972 |
| Seats For Election: | All 150 seats in the House of Representatives |
| Majority Seats: | 76 |
| Election Date: | 28 April 1971 |
| Turnout: | 79.12% (15.88pp) |
| Leader1: | Joop den Uyl |
| Party1: | Labour Party (Netherlands) |
| Last Election1: | 37 |
| Seats1: | 39 |
| Percentage1: | 24.60 |
| Leader2: | Gerard Veringa |
| Party2: | Catholic People's Party |
| Last Election2: | 42 |
| Seats2: | 35 |
| Percentage2: | 21.84 |
| Leader3: | Molly Geertsema |
| Party3: | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| Last Election3: | 17 |
| Seats3: | 16 |
| Percentage3: | 10.34 |
| Leader4: | Barend Biesheuvel |
| Party4: | Anti-Revolutionary Party |
| Last Election4: | 15 |
| Seats4: | 13 |
| Percentage4: | 8.59 |
| Leader5: | Hans van Mierlo |
| Party5: | Democrats 66 |
| Last Election5: | 7 |
| Seats5: | 11 |
| Percentage5: | 6.77 |
| Leader6: | Bé Udink |
| Party6: | Christian Historical Union |
| Last Election6: | 12 |
| Seats6: | 10 |
| Percentage6: | 6.32 |
| Leader7: | Willem Drees Jr. |
| Party7: | Democratic Socialists '70 |
| Last Election7: | new |
| Seats7: | 8 |
| Percentage7: | 5.33 |
| Leader8: | Marcus Bakker |
| Party8: | Communist Party of the Netherlands |
| Last Election8: | 5 |
| Seats8: | 6 |
| Percentage8: | 3.90 |
| Party9: | Reformed Political Party |
| Last Election9: | 3 |
| Seats9: | 3 |
| Percentage9: | 2.35 |
| Party10: | Political Party of Radicals |
| Last Election10: | new |
| Seats10: | 2 |
| Percentage10: | 1.84 |
| Party11: | Reformed Political League |
| Last Election11: | 1 |
| Seats11: | 2 |
| Percentage11: | 1.61 |
| Last Election12: | new |
| Seats12: | 2 |
| Percentage12: | 1.51 |
| Color12: |
|
| Party13: | Pacifist Socialist Party |
| Last Election13: | 4 |
| Seats13: | 2 |
| Percentage13: | 1.44 |
| Party14: | Farmers' Party (Netherlands) |
| Last Election14: | 7 |
| Seats14: | 1 |
| Percentage14: | 1.10 |
| Map: | TK_Samenstelling_1971.jpg |
| Cabinet | |
| Before Election: | De Jong cabinet |
| Before Party: | KVP–VVD–ARP–CHU |
| After Election: | First Biesheuvel cabinet |
| After Party: | KVP–VVD–ARP–CHU–DS70 |
General elections were held in the Netherlands on 28 April 1971.[1] The Labour Party (PvdA) emerged as the largest party, winning 39 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives.[2] The elections were the first without compulsory voting, causing a sharp fall in voter turnout, down to 79% from 95% in the 1967 elections.[3] Barend Biesheuvel of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) became prime minister, leading the first Biesheuvel cabinet.
His cabinet contained a broad coalition of parties, with ministers from ARP, Christian Historical Union (both Protestant), the Catholic People's Party, the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and moderate socialist Democratic Socialists '70 (DS'70), which had just split off from the PvdA.
However, Biesheuvel's government was short-lived; following a decision to cut government spending, DS'70 withdrew from the government, causing it to lose its majority and fresh elections to be held after just a year and seven months.
| Province | PvdA | KVP | VVD | ARP | D'66 | CHU | DS'70 | CPN | SGP | PPR | GPV | NMP | PSP | BP | Others | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35.6 | 5.9 | 13.5 | 14.3 | 4.3 | 8.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | ||
| 31.5 | 5.2 | 7.8 | 21.5 | 4.1 | 12.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | ||
| 24.2 | 22.1 | 10.0 | 8.5 | 5.5 | 9.5 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.8 | ||
| 31.8 | 4.1 | 10.8 | 15.4 | 4.1 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 11.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | ||
| 14.6 | 54.2 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 7.3 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 3.5 | ||
| 14.2 | 49.3 | 7.1 | 3.4 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.1 | ||
| 25.2 | 16.0 | 12.2 | 6.4 | 8.5 | 3.6 | 7.7 | 9.0 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.9 | ||
| 23.8 | 23.0 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 4.8 | 10.7 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | ||
| 29.8 | 12.4 | 12.2 | 9.7 | 8.2 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.3 | ||
| 19.2 | 13.8 | 12.6 | 18.6 | 7.3 | 10.5 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.9 | ||
| 21.4 | 17.3 | 13.3 | 10.0 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.2 | ||
| 25.0 | 13.4 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 4.3 | 11.5 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 9.3 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 |