Royston Smith, MP for Southampton Itchen (Con), left, has accused Southampton City Council of making a “political point at the expense of his constituents,” claiming libraries losing council funding could “easily be saved” in an article in The Bookseller. Satvir Kaur, Southampton cabinet member for communities, culture and leisure (Lab), responded: “It is not political point scoring, it is stating facts. The facts are we have had a lot of cuts under this Tory government....” You can read the full piece here.