Only 2 Meetings Attended: Labour Councillors Attendance Record Under Fire...

Second Worst Attendance Record on the Council: Labour Councillor Ben Clayton’s Attendance Record Revealed, as he faces calls to quit.

Representation in Name Only: Councillors Poor Attendance Record Exposes Labours Disengagement with the public.

23rd Jan 2026

Manor House Labour Councillor Ben Clayton is now the second worst attender to council meetings according to Hartlepool Borough Councils attendance records.

A Hartlepool Labour Councillors facing increasing calls to consider his future, after his attendance record has now been found to be one of the lowest with just two council meetings attended in 2025/26.

Manor House Labour Councillor Ben Clayton, is now facing calls to consider his future as a ward councillor for Hartlepool following the publication of his official council attendance record on Hartlepool Borough Councils website, with the figures placing him among the worst-attending councillors at Hartlepool Borough Council, with attendance levels that critics claim is difficult to justify in any public office role—particularly one funded by the taxpayer.

The Attendance Record

Based on the council’s own published data, Councillor Clayton’s attendance is as follows:

Committee / Meeting Body	Actual Attendance	Possible Attendance
Licensing Committee	0	3
Licensing Sub-Committee	2	2
Full Council Meetings	0	4
TOTAL	2	9

This means Councillor Clayton has attended just 2 out of a 9 possible council meetings with no attendance to any full council meetings recorded— giving him an attendance rate of just 22.2%.

Conservative ward Councillor for the Hart Ward John Leedham chalked up the worst attendance record attending just one out of a possible four full council meetings the bare minimum before he would have been disqualified from the role.

That figure places him as one of the worst attenders on the council, now only marginally ahead of John Leedham, the Conservative councillor for Hart ward, who currently holds the unenviable position of lowest overall attendance.

Representation Without Presence

For residents in Hartlepool's Manor House ward, the issue raises the question over just How can a councillor represent local people if they're not present in the meetings where decisions are actually being made? with increasing calls for councillors to be paid on attendance rather than them simply being elected to the role itself.

Public confidence in local government, especially in towns such as Hartlepool is already fragile. Poor attendance by elected officials only deepens the perception that some councillors are treating the role as titles rather than responsibilities.

If worked on attendance Cllr Claytons attendance to Hartlepool Borough Council would mean he would have effectively recieved just £1832.00 if paid on the percentage of meetings he's attended.

Comparative Failure

The level of attendance to meetings by some councillors is calling into question whether those under-performers should now consider their future as elected members

The fact that Labour Councillor Clayton now ranks just behind Conservatives John Leedham places him in a category no elected official should want to occupy, with the absences critics claim, reflecting a woeful pattern of disengagement to the electorate.

Cllr Clayton is not due to stand for election in Hartlepool again until 2027, however Conservatives John Leedham, who boasts the worst attendance record of them all is said not to be standing again in May's local elections, allowing the seat to be filled by someone many locals claim will dedicate themselves far more to the role than Mr Leedham did