24th October 2025
By invoking the late Tony Benn’s “five powerful questions,” it’s worth asking whether Romiley’s residents are getting the honest, accountable local leadership they deserve—especially when it comes to the worsening state of Padden Brook.
So, in Benn’s spirit, let’s ask:
- What power have you got?
Councillors and senior officers wield the authority to allocate funds, prioritise works, and instruct contractors. Yet those powers seem strangely absent when it comes to Padden Brook. - Where did you get it from?
Elected representatives derive power from the people of Romiley; officers, from the trust placed in them to serve the public good. Both owe their positions to the public purse. - In whose interest do you exercise it?
The interests of residents living in Padden Brook—or the convenience of a bureaucracy more interested in ticking boxes than solving problems? The question practically asks itself. - To whom are you accountable?
Officially, to the voters. Practically, accountability seems lost in the fog of committee minutes and delayed consultations. - How can we get rid of you?
Through the ballot box, through scrutiny, and through the steady pressure of public attention—exactly what this community now must apply.
If local government means anything, it should mean stewardship: care for the places and people under its charge. Padden Brook is a test of that duty. The community has waited long enough.
As Benn would have said—if those in power cannot answer these five questions honestly, perhaps it’s time they made way for those who can.
