Wherein the chemists could have a little party (3)
I believe the answer is:
lab
'party' is the definition.
(abbreviation for Labour)
'wherein the chemists could have a little' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'little' could be 'l' (abbreviation for little) and 'l' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'b' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lab that I've seen before include "Scientist's workroom" , "Research workroom" , "biology classroom?" , "Science workshop" , "Workplace for researcher" .)