About Us > Values and Principles

London Civic Forum is guided by the following operating principles:

• The Civic Forum acts as a gateway and not a gatekeeper to involvement in the governance of London and actively seeks participation and representation of all of London's communities.
• There is a complementary rather than an adversarial relationship between the Civic Forum and London Assembly. The Civic Forum seeks to promote involvement in scrutiny.
• The Civic Forum works towards agreement, and does not contrive consensus where none exists. We reflect and record disagreement and diversity where they occur.
• The Civic Forum promotes innovative ways of engaging all sections of London in the governance of the capital, not least those communities which have traditionally proved hard to reach or hear.
• The Civic Forum offers an additional means of getting involved in regional governance, not a replacement for the work of individual organisations and interest groups.
• The Civic Forum aims to be a transparent and open body supported by a flexible structure which does not hinder effective action.

In addition, we operate within the following values: 

• Every person is of equal value. This will include all people who live or work in London.
• Every person has rights and responsibilities. Individuals have rights as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also have responsibilities e.g. not to harm other individuals and, where possible, to take part in the democratic life of the city. 
• Everyone has the right to have their say. People have the right to vote for members of parliament and local authority representatives, and, as individuals, have the right of access to those elected representatives (representative democracy). Equally they have a right to come together in civil society organisations in order to help each other, provide goods and services and influence elected representatives (participatory democracy). Both representative and participatory democracy are essential to a healthy society and both have to be supported. 
• No-one should be discriminated against because of their status or identity. Status includes being old, young, religious, disabled, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, black or from an ethnic minority. London Civic Forum will be actively involved in opposing any such discrimination and in promoting a tolerant and diverse city. 
• There is a need to balance long-term economic, social and environmental concerns. Markets and the private sector need to be supported to provide goods and services. However economic drivers need to be balanced by measures to ensure that the social needs of all individuals are met and that the environment is not compromised for future generations.