CALD Takes Part in UK Liberal Democrats Visitor Programme

A delegation from the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) participated in a three-day visitor programme in London organized by the UK Liberal Democrats last 17-19 November 2025. The core objective of the programme is to facilitate a crucial exchange of perspectives and shared experiences centered on political party strategies, effective network-building, and strengthening democratic resilience across contexts.

On Day 1 (17 November), following an introductory tour of Westminster Palace, the delegation proceeded to the London School of Economics (LSE) for an engaging discussion with Professor John Sidel and Dr. Petra Alderman. This session focused on critical geopolitical and democratic challenges, specifically: (1) understanding the resurgence of authoritarianism; (2) developing robust counter-narratives to populism; and (3) identifying methods to maximize and defend democratic spaces.

The day concluded at the UK Liberal Democrats Headquarters, where the delegation received an insightful presentation from Professor Andrew Russel. Professor Russel detailed the evolution and development of the UK LibDems, paying particular attention to the campaign strategies and circumstances that culminated in the party’s record-breaking achievement of 72 seats in the 2024 General Election.

It was all about meetings for Day 2 (November 18) of the visitor programme. In the morning, the delegation met with Stevie Wolfe for incisive discussions on the function and impact of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on corruption, particularly on themes like political integrity, economic crime and responsible tax.

Tom Morrison, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheadle and Liberal Democrat Deputy Chief Whip, also met with the CALD delegation to share his insights on the state of democracy and what does it mean for allies and partners. He emphasized the power of story-telling at a time when “no one seems to be holding the flag for democracy.”

The CALD delegation then returned to the UK LibDems Headquarters in the afternoon for open and frank discussions on international cooperation with David Chalmers, chair of the party’s Federal International Relations Committee (FIRC); Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett, FIRC member; and Phil Bennion, Liberal International representative.

For Day 3 (November 19) of the visitor programme, the CALD delegation visited the headquarters of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and met with Adele Poskit, head of practice, political parties and movements; and Felicity Herrmann, senior programme manager (ASEAN), to know more about WFD’s international work on strengthening democracy and political parties.

This was followed by an open discussion with Baroness Alison Suttie and Lord Jeremy Purvis of Tweed at the House of Lords, where the challenges facing liberal democratic parties amidst rapidly changing social contexts were discussed. Lord Purvis observed that liberals have the baggage of “being a party of institutions and the rule of law”, and therefore, part of the establishment which appears to ignore the common people’s daily struggles.

With Duncan Hames of Transparency International, the delegation members discussed issues like corruption, money laundering, economic sanctions circumvention and other matters which affect the integrity of financial systems.

The programme concluded with a well-attended Foreign Policy Roundtable where each member of the CALD delegation shared their insights on threats to democratic institutions, challenges brought by corruption, populist and authoritarian narratives, experiences on election interference and lessons learned on fostering democratic revival, renewal and resilience.

The CALD delegation included Chairperson Mardi Seng, Secretary General Francis Gerald “Blue” Abaya, Women’s Caucus Chairperson Jaslyn Go, Individual Member Sin Chung-kai and Executive Director Lito Arlegue.

Categorised in: News Article

This post was written by CALD