IT WAS supposed to encourage budding writers to put pen to paper and come up with their own imaginative tales.

But a short story competition being run from Southampton's Union Learning Centre has become the epicentre of a spat between two senior city politicians.

When Labour cabinet member Asa Thorpe wrote to all councillors asking if they wanted to take part, Conservative Peter Baillie replied: “How about entering last year's Labour election manifesto in the fiction section?”

Now Cllr Thorpe, the city's environment and transport chief, has called on the Bitterne Park councillor to apologise for what he calls a “disrespectful slur”.

Cllr Thorpe said: “This really was a comment of poor taste. We want to help our employees and the wider community develop key skills in reading and writing.

“To hijack a non-political scheme and respond to councillors across the Council in such a manner lets himself and his party down.

“I call on Councillor Baillie to make a public apology to those people who are currently enrolled on courses supported by the Learning Centre."

But Cllr Baillie has responded by saying: "I commend the efforts of people who are trying to improve their skills through training and I wish them well.

“It was for that reason, when the Conservatives ran the council, we set aside an additional £100k budget for staff and unions to access for training and skills. I hope this is being used to full effect to help staff in these difficult times.

“The point I was making to Cllr Thorpe is that his party had no plan for running the council and as a result the whole city is suffering from their cuts, tax hikes and broken promises.

“On reflection it may have been better to say Labour's manifesto would have been better placed in the horror section rather than the fiction section."

The competition, which has been organised by union member Dave Ross, is for short stories of up to 1,500 words.

The winner will be awarded a Kindle, while the second and third-placed writers will win book vouchers worth £25 and £10 respectively.

If you are interested in entering the competition, you can enter your story before midnight on August 31.

Postal entries should be addressed to Dave Ross, Union Learning Centre, City Depot, 1st Avenue, Millbrook, SO15 0LJ, while they can also be emailed to union.learningcentre@southampton.gov.uk.