AMERICAN author Mark Twain, famed for penning The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, once wrote “facts are stubborn, but statistics are pliable” and that could easily be referred to when looking at councillor attendance records for Wellington Town Council meetings over the past year.

Top of the class with 100 per cent attendance at meetings they were expected to attend during the past 12 months were Cllrs John Thorne, George Western and Gareth Williams.

Cllr Thorne attended all 28 meetings he was supposed to be present at during the 2025/26 municipal year, while it was argued in jest that recent additions to the council, the newly-elected Cllrs Western and Williams, should have 100 per cent records as they were only expected to attend three and seven meetings respectively.

The highest number of meetings a councillor could be allocated for the year was 43 and that was the mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd, and she achieved a 93 per cent attendance record having missed just three meetings.

The new mayor, Cllr Mark Lithgow, also had a 93 per cent attendance record having attended 38 of his 41 allocated meetings.

The only other councillor to achieve a 90 per cent or higher record was Cllr Andy Govier who was present for 27 of his 30 possible meetings.

Wellington Town Council councillor attendance records for 2025/26 meetings: 100 per cent – Cllr John Thorne, Cllr George Western and Cllr Gareth Williams; 93 per cent – Cllr Mark Lithgow and Cllr Janet Lloyd; 90 per cent – Cllr Andy Govier; 89 per cent – Cllr Justin Cole; 85 per cent – Cllr Mike McGuffie and Cllr Steve Mercer; 83 per cent – Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky; 81 per cent – Cllr Keith Wheatley; 74 per cent – Cllr Chris Booth; 67 per cent – Cllr Catherine Govier-Wiggins; 52 per cent – Cllr Chris Penk; 50 per cent – Cllr Ross Henley; 40 per cent – Marcus Barr; 36 per cent – Sue Fox.

It should be noted that both Marcus Barr and Sue Fox left the council during the 2025/26 municipal year.

There are various acceptable reasons as to why councillors are absent from meetings – work commitments, conflicting engagements, personal reasons and illness.

New mayor, Cllr Mark Lithgow, speaking at Wellington Town Council’s full meeting on May 6, said: “I am pleased on the whole with the attendance records.

“There is always room for improvement, but we do have other responsibilities so we can’t always attend.”

It would appear that the likes of Cllrs Thorne, Lithgow and Lloyd are not prone to missing many meetings.

Cllr Thorne topped the attendance chart for 2024/25 as well with a perfect 100 per cent when he attended all 46 of his allocated meetings. Cllr Lithgow had a 94 per cent attendance record, while Cllr Lloyd and Cllr Mike McGuffie each had 92 per cent.

The annual attendance reports are always merely noted in meetings, but they are important as high attendance shows commitment and engagement – although there is far more to a councillor’s role than just attending meetings.