Who we are
- LI has members in over 70 countries around the world.
- Two thirds of our members live in Europe.
- One third of our membership are women.
- 80% of our members are of working age.
Membership of LI rose from around 650 in 2010 to a peak of 3300. The large increases in membership came during the period of the leadership elections in 2015 and 2016. Since the General Election in 2019 our membership decreased before starting to rise again; we are a large, active CLP with over 2,500 members.
Our perspective
- The nature of LI’s membership means that we are typically international in outlook, in favour of European and global cooperation, and a just international order based on democratic and egalitarian global values.
- Social democracy by nature shares these global values, and LI branches, groups, and individuals often develop very close relationships with sister parties in different countries, as well as with international organisations like Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists, for example, through joint activities and campaigns.
- We aim to use our broad international knowledge and links for the direct benefit of the UK Labour Party.
Activities
- Participation in the Labour Party’s policy development processes.
- Fund raising and election campaigning during UK and European elections.
- Hosting and facilitating overseas visits of UK Labour Party members, elected representatives and ministers.
- Globalisation has meant that a very broad section of British citizens now live around the world. Members of LI come from all walks of life and are of all ages. An important concern of LI is therefore campaigning for the rights of British citizens abroad, for example in areas such as pensions, voting and representation, medical services and similar civil rights.
Our structure
- A 14-member Labour International Executive Committee (LIEC) elected by members for a 2-year term, together with 3 co-opted regional officers, and other co-opted posts that may arise.
- Decisions on policy are made by a monthly General Committee (GC) meeting to which LI branches send delegates.
- See the list of current LIEC officers on our Contacts page.
- There are branches of LI all around the world. Each member of LI is allocated to a branch. Some branches meet face to face as there is a cohort of members living in a particular city or area; some meet using video conferencing; some use a combination of both.