Last Friday I was invited to spend the morning with a group of Labour councillors discussing what ideas they should include in their party's next manifesto. Whilst they weren't exactly reaching for the party poppers to celebrate Gordon Brown's anniversary in office, they were surprisingly less depressed than many Labour Party members I bump into in Westminster.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6179334.stm

The Mail and BBC are reporting a 'new Labour funding scandal'. Councillors have to pay some of their allowances to the Party.

Yes...and?

As party members, we all have to pay some of our income to the party. Councillors have to pay a little bit more - and their income is made up, in part, by their allowance.

How is this even a story? The money BELONGS to the Councillors!

Am I missing something?