Liberal Democrats and ALDE
ALDE Party Congress 2023, Stockholm
In May 2023, the Liberal Democrats sent a delegation to the ALDE Party to work with our European friends, allies and partners to promote liberalism across the continent.
As a party that supports the European Project, the Liberal Democrats work a lot with our sibling parties in Europe, principally through the ALDE Party, (which we are a full member of and who's MEPs stand as part of the Renew Europe Group).
Within the ALDE Party, the Liberal Democrats form a key group, being one of the largest organisations and, despite Brexit, still supporting pan-European activity. In 2022, Liberal Democrats signed the Dublin Diversity Declaration, encouraging the representation of LGBTQ+ people in politics. In the same year, The Liberal Democrats' own Baroness Sal Brinton was elected as one of the Vice-Presidents of the ALDE Party (entitling her to sit on the Party's Bureau).
As the Liberal Democrats advocate for a closer relationship to the EU, and our long-term aim of rejoining the bloc, it is crucial that we maintain our strong links to sibling parties in Europe (in the EU and beyond) and demonstrate not only our willingness, but our ability to work well with international partners.
In May 2023, the Liberal Democrats, supported by LDEG, sent a delegation to Stockholm to participate in the ALDE Congress. This congress was an opportunity for us to be a loud voice from across the Channel, and work with Europeans to promote liberalism.
Led by Chair of the Liberal Democrats Federal International Relations Committee, David Chalmers, the delegation achieved much success, passing policies (our motion on Hate Speech, for instance, was the voted as the third-most popular motion, and unanimously supported by member parties), electing endorsed candidates for Vice-President and Treasurer and strenghtening relations with sibling parties (many of which are scheduled to make appearances at the Autumn 2023 Bournemouth Conference).
Our Secretary and elected Liberal Democrat delegate to the ALDE Council wrote two write-ups of his experiences at the ALDE Congress:
ALDE’s 2023 conference: the reflections of your newest Council delegate
ALDE Party Congress 2023: the expectations of your newest Council delegate
As we look towards future ALDE Congresses and Councils (the latter only involving elected Council delegates and the former including non-elected Congress delegates), we encourage all members to get involved in the process. Before Congresses, we open applications to the Liberal Democrat membership for those who wish to join our delegation.