Liberal Democrat members living in Newbury, including the new Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Judith Bunting, have picked two local men who know their law as candidates for the Victoria Ward Newbury Town Council by-elections. Ruwan Uduwerage and Alex Payton are two local community champions who have dedicated themselves to public service and the rule of law.

London Region Liberal Democrats held their annual Spring Conference in the salubrious surroundings of the East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf on Saturday 8 April.

At an afternoon session chaired by Vice-Chair, Merlene Emerson entitled "London's Changing Demographics - What is the Liberal Democrat Response", Tom Smithard, Head of Strategic Research at LibDem HQ shared with party attendees data showing how the ethnic minority profile had changed in the last 10 years. This taken with the polling data carried out by the Party at the end of last year was a wake-up call that the Party needs to do better in reaching out to ethnic minority voters.

Partnerships between Chinese and European cities bring lasting benefits to both sides in economic and cultural spheres

The locals are accustomed to cold winters in Sunderland, a small post-industrial city in the northeast of England, but nothing quite as extreme as the -25 C regularly experienced in Harbin, in the far north of China.

From 8-10 March, Liberal Democrats Spring Conference was held in Brighton.

Intern Kevin Cheung was born and grew up in Hong Kong, and is currently completing his final year of BA Economics and Politics at the University of Essex. From attending conference debates and seminars he said that he has now had a taste of the democratic process and learnt how party policy is made.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has closed the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Brighton by calling on members to spread the message of the Party's commitment in Government to deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society.

In his keynote Leader's speech, Nick paid tribute to the work of the Party in winning the Eastleigh by-election, beating the Conservatives into third place and squeezing Labour while campaigning on the Lib Dem record of delivering in Government.

Born in Edinburgh to a Chinese Malaysian father and Scottish mother, Sarah Yong 勇莎拉, was brought up in Somerset where she attended local state schools. A graduate from University of Sheffield in Politics and History Sarah is currently head of office for Tessa Munt MP.

In her speech at the Women's Rally on Friday 8 March, Sarah encouraged young people to join the Liberal Democrats and talked about the achievements made by the Party both locally as well as nationally as a partner in the Coalition government.

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, strengthening Chinese participation in UK politics and campaigning on issues impacting the UK Chinese, the Chinese Liberal Democrats ('CLDs') hosted a Chinese New Year Banquet at the Grand Imperial Restaurant on 12^th February 2013.

Phil Ling, Chair of the CLDs, delivered a welcome speech to distinguished guests. The Rt. Hon. Jeremy Browne MP, Minister of State for the Home Office, was invited as the keynote speaker. Minister Browne said:

"Happy Chinese New Year! It is a sign of how well the Chinese culture has been accepted into the UK psyche that many people know when the New Year is and are also happy to celebrate it.

The Chinese Liberal Democrats (CLD) in 2013 will be striving to campaign on issues affecting the UK Chinese / Asian community, improve the links between the Liberal Democrats and the Asian voters as well as increasing the political participation of the Chinese in UK politics. We are making great strides in all those areas. Employment of staff to improve our contacts and communications with the community and provide support to our CLD members standing for Parliament, European Parliament or local Councils. None of this would be possible though without the continued support of members and supporters like yourselves.

" I wish all of the UK's Chinese communities, and Chinese communities around the world, a very Happy New Year in 2013. Chinese communities in the UK hugely enrich our country, have integrated well into British society and becoming more visible in public life.

We also have a long standing bond with the people of Hong Kong, to whom we send a special New Year greeting.

I am proud to be the new Chair of the Chinese Liberal Democrats for 2013. I will be building on the great work Merlene Emerson, our Chair has done for the past three years. It is testament to Merlene and the Executive's hardwork, that every year our events get larger and our work is more widely known amongst the Chinese community. Please join us at our Chinese New Year celebrations at the Grand Imperial Restaurant in London on 12 Feb with Jeremy Browne MP.

I would like to reaffirm our aims and purpose as an organisation: