I SUSPECT we all know that the Labour Party is mostly funded by the unions. But how many of us realise that, if we pay council tax, then a proportion of it is syphoned off and finds its way into Labour coffers.

Labour councillors pay a total of seven per cent of their allowances to the party. Failure to pay up results in the whip being withdrawn with inevitable consequences. These payments are processed by your local authority at source and then paid into the Labour bank account. I wonder how Labour voters would feel if other parties were given the same beneficial treatment.

DW Lacey, Durham City.