About LFIT

Labour Friends of Italy (LFIT) is the focal point for connections between the Labour Party and the Italian centre-left political parties.

We have 3 main aims:

1. Promote the exchange of political knowledge and understanding.

We want to encourage a constructive dialogue between British and Italian political parties on a wide range of social and economic issues.

2. Seek active influence on the British and Italian political landscapes.

We are creating a forum for debate through the publication of articles, political analyses and feedback across the British and the Italian systems. The forum will stimulate cultural and intellectual contributions to policy direction and offer new opportunities on both sides.

3. Stimulate political engagement and participation.

We aspire to become a hub for Italians living in the UK who want to be active in the political life of both countries. We also aim to stimulate the involvement of British people in Italian politics.

The experience of being one of the few Italians belonging both to Labour and the Partito Democratico made me realise that it’s time for centre-left expats to move beyond the stage of replicating Italian institutions abroad. British-Italians should engage in active participation in the British as well as Italian political arenas.

Fulvio Menghini, Director Labour Friends of Italy Foundation

As a group of politically infatuated Italians based in London, we have been repeatedly frustrated by the absence of any institutionalised relations between the centre-left parties in Italy and the Labour Party.

The experience of trying to arrange a meeting between a prominent political from the Partito Democratico and a senior Labour party MP proved to be the final straw.

We decided it was about time that there was an official route for the maintenance of these crucial links. We created Labour Friends of Italy to be that route.