Our principles

Our principles

The Kirklees Democracy Commission have adopted a set of core principles for progressing our recommendations. You can expect these principles to form the basis of every aspect of our practical work to grow a stronger local democracy:

Everything starts with the citizen

Our local democracy must start with the citizen. This has been a guiding principle for the Commission, one that we have been careful to value and cherish throughout our work. Our mantra has become – “everything starts with the citizen”. The local democracy that we deserve is best shaped by our citizens, who can play an active part in our wider civic society.

Working in the open

We’re committed to working in the open, because we want to create as many opportunities as possible for people to get involved. Openness improves understanding, creates accountability, grows trust and helps us to make things happen.

Partnership approach

A strong local democracy grows from the connections between people.  It’s about relationships, conversations and networks. We know that we need everyone to get involved if our local democracy is to thrive, including community groups, local businesses, the press, the third sector, our partners and our local MPs.

Evidence led

Our report was based on a year of evidence-gathering that over 1,000 people participated in. We have published our evidence for others to explore and learn from. We will continue to base our work on the evidence that we gather, and we will share things as we learn.

Councillors at the heart

Councillors are at the heart of a strong local democracy. We’re aiming to sow the seeds of cultural change in our council and in our communities, by putting councillors at the heart of what we do.

Our way of working

Each project or activity that’s part of our practical work will:

Our mission is:

By 2020 Kirklees is an informed citizen-led democracy with accountable elected representatives who enable communities to influence and affect decisions governing their lives.