THE town's Labour Party faithful have backed the younger Miliband in his quest for the leadership.

Both the Reading East and Reading West constituency parties voted to give Ed Miliband 'supporting nominations' at a meeting on Thursday, following a visit to the town by the shadow climate secretary the week before.

Reading Labour Party chairwoman Sarah King said: "There is a strong field of candidates in this election, and Thursday's was a well-attended and lively meeting, with a number of new members taking part. Over 100 new members have joined Reading Labour Party since the election, determined to fight back against the damage the Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition is inflicting on our country. Ed Miliband has a sense of vision that appeals to members in Reading, but local people know that, whoever wins the leadership, Labour will be in there fighting hard on their side."

Members of Reading Labour also attended a hustings in Slough pitting all five leadership contenders against one another on July 14, and although the momentum in East Berkshire was gathering behind shadow foreign secretary David, it was his younger brother who bowled over the Reading contingent.

Labour leader on Reading Borough Council, Jo Lovelock, said she had not yet made her own decision but had narrowed the field down to two.

But she said: "There's been a lot of discussion in the Reading party, as nationally, and it's exciting there's such a wide range of people to choose from. We have lots of new members and are feeling invigorated."

According to party website LabourList, as of Tuesday Ed Miliband had the backing of 63 MPs, six MEPs, 148 local parties, six trades unions and three Labour-affiliated socialist societies.

His brother David has 81 MPs, six MEPs, 165 local parties, two trades unions and one socialist society. Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott and Ed Balls are trailing significantly.