On Friday 30th June 2017 we held a special "Growing a stronger local democracy" event to celebrate the launch of our landmark report. These are the introductory slides presented by Jacqui Gedman, Chief Executive of Kirklees Council, on the day.

2. Thank you to
• Our citizens
• University of Huddersfield
• The Commission
• Our participants
• Our staff
for being brave and innovative

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

4. Why it matters...
“You have to remember one thing about the
will of the people - it wasn’t that long ago that
we were swept away by the Macarena”
Jon Stewart
“Politicians will only move beyond gestures
once there is a critical mass of informed residents”
Paul Collier

5. If we get this right we will…
• Connect representative and participatory democracy
• Make better and more informed decisions
• Get better outcomes with citizens
• Make Kirklees the beacon for local democracy