Canterbury and Coastal
Liberal Democrats

Events

We organise a range of events throughout the year, open to current and new members.

Are you passionate about making a positive impact in our community and connecting with like-minded individuals? We invite you to join the Canterbury and Coastal Liberal Democrats for a series of engaging events.

To book for an event - contact Maggs on:


maggsmac@btinternet.com


01227 458056

Liberal Thinker booklets

Political Discussion Group: The way forward for the UK and Europe

Led by Martin Vye

At 31 Abbey Gardens, Canterbury CT2 7EU

Thursday 16th January 2025 (7.00pm to 8.30pm)

Security, Migration and Economic Growth are three key challenges facing both the EU and the UK in 2025. Add to this the very real threats to liberal democracies worldwide plus the Climate Emergency and we could have quite a bumpy year ahead!

The EU has set up its new Commission, Councils, Committees and policy discussions and implementations ready for 2025 – including imminent meetings with the UK government on issues of joint concern.

Meanwhile, UK political parties have very different policies towards Europe: from Labour’s ‘red lines’, Reform’s ‘non, non, non’, the Conservatives ‘Brexit means Brexit’ and the Green’s ‘keep the Green Deal (and re-join the Customs Union)’. 

Liberal Democrat thinking remains, ‘we should never have left’!   Only the Liberal Democrats have had a consistent policy of seeking closer co-operation with the EU that has concrete steps, and openly states their belief that (re)joining the Single Market would benefit our economy and bring desperately needed economic growth.

  • Join us for a discussion on how we should best tackle the problems ahead.
  • How would the Lib Dem approach to closer cooperation with the EU help Britain?
  • What might be some immediate local benefits?

Useful links which may be of interest (but pre-reading not required!):

Rebuilding trade and cooperation with Europe (Layla Moran): https://www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/rebuilding-trade-cooperation-with-europe 

Coming up for the EU in 2025: https://commission.europa.eu/news/coming-eu-2025-2024-12-31_en

The Presidency of the Council of the EU: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/presidency-council-eu/

Migration and Asylum: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/topics/migration-and-asylum/

Reversing Brexit in the context of wider EU enlargement: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/reversing-brexit-in-the-context-of-wider-eu-enlargement/

Independent thinking: Is Europe falling apart?: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/11/independent-thinking-europe-falling-apart 

Mike Martin MP

Dover & Deal Liberal Democrats' Annual Lunch with Mike Martin MP

Saturday 8th February 2025 from 12.30 to 3.00pm

At Deal Town Hall, High Street, Deal CT14 6TR

The Dover & Deal Lib Dem Annual Lunch is taking place on Saturday February 8, 2025 from 12.30 - 3pm. Our speaker will be Mike Martin, our recently elected MP for Tunbridge Wells.  

Mike was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tunbridge Wells in July 2024 with 43.6 per cent of the vote and a majority of 8,687 over the second-placed Conservative candidate. He is the first non-Conservative to win the constituency since it was first contested in February 1974. 

Mike describes himself as a pro-European, internationalist, "explicitly pro-green", and is in favour of a strong stance on defence. He is an ex-soldier, military strategist, and author and served multiple tours in Helmand Province during the War in Afghanistan.

He has a degree in biological sciences from the University of Oxford and a Doctor or Philosophy (PhD) degree in war studies from King's College London, which he completed in 2013 with a thesis entitled War on its Head: An Oral History of the Helmandi Conflict 1978-2012.  He is also a senior visiting research fellow at King's College London.

Tickets are £37 and include a welcome glass of fizz and a buffet lunch. You can book tickets here.

Palace of Westminster

Visit to Parliament

Saturday 22nd February 2025

Join fellow Lib Dems on a day trip to the Houses of Parliament!

Explore the atmospheric Palace of Westminster at your own pace, guided by a multimedia headset device with audio and visual content.

Wander through historic Westminster Hall, Central Lobby, and the Chambers of The House of Commons and House of Lords. Option to visit the café and gift shop.

Cost £55 per adult and £35 per child (under 16) including admission, audio tour and return coach travel from Canterbury.  

Departs from Canterbury Bus Station at 9.30am, return by 5.30pm.

Places are limited and must be reserved as soon as possible.

To book, contact Maggs by Friday 25th January at the latest.

Quiz Night

Quiz Night

Friday 14th March 2025

At the ARCA Hall.

Details to follow…

Liberal Thinker booklets

Political Discussion Group: Topic to be confirmed

Led by Martin Vye

At 31 Abbey Gardens, Canterbury CT2 7EU

Thursday 8th May 2025 (7.00pm to 8.30pm)

National Liberal Club Entrance

Visit to the National Liberal Club, London

Tuesday 20th May 2025 (provisional date)

Join us on a day trip to the National Liberal Club in London. Travel together by coach - with refreshments on board. Some free time in London and the optional extra of Afternoon Tea in the Club.

Further details to follow...

Coffee and pastry

Coffee Mornings

Meet other Lib Dems for coffee, cake and a chat on Saturday mornings at 10.30 in the upstairs room of Coffee Corner Cafe, 51-52 St Dunstan's Street, Canterbury CT2 8BS.

Last Saturday of each month:

2025: 25th January, 22nd February, 29th March, 26th April, 31st May.

No need to book - all welcome.

Lib Dem Conference Hall

Spring Conference 21-23 March 2025, Harrogate

Delegate registration open now.

About national conference
View
Lib Dem logo on curtains

Autumn Conference 20-23 September 2025, Bournemouth

Delegate registration will open April/May.

Sign up for email updates...

You can opt-out at any time
The Liberal Democrats may use the information you provide, including your political opinions, to further our objectives and share it with our elected representatives. Any data we gather will be used in accordance with our privacy policy: libdems.org.uk/privacy. You can exercise your rights and withdraw your consent to future communications by contacting us: data.protection@libdems.org.uk or: DPO, Lib Dems, 1 Vincent Square, SW1P 2PN.

This website uses cookies

Like most websites, this site uses cookies. Some are required to make it work, while others are used for statistical or marketing purposes. If you choose not to allow cookies some features may not be available, such as content from other websites. Please read our Cookie Policy for more information.

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the website to function properly.
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.
Marketing cookies are used by third parties or publishers to display personalized advertisements. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.