On June 12th I arrived at the town hall to find the meeting I was due to attend had been cancelled. Instead, I was told “all the rooms have been taken for Labour Party meetings.” These were not just meetings for Labour councillors but for Party activists to discuss Party business.

So had the Labour Party paid a fee for booking the rooms.

The reply I was sent from the council was follows:

The booking of rooms for internal use is self-service, accessible by all staff and is not monitored.

Officers advise that if the Labour Party book rooms they are charged at the commercial rate.

However, on this occasion two rooms were booked and these bookings were not charged for.

A response that raises more questions that it answers. Did the Labour Party dodge paying the fee through using the “internal use” mechanism to evade being monitored?

I have asked for clarification. It would be scandalous for Council resources to be used to subsidise Party political activity – yet there is clearly concern that this is what has happened.

The plot thickens and the smell grows.