Alok Sharma MP has slammed the local Labour Party for ‘fighting each other’ and giving residents ‘little attention’.

The criticism comes after Reading Momentum called for a change in leadership at Reading Borough Council (RBC) in April.

The organisation criticised the council for its children’s services, outsourcing, the failed MRT scheme, equal pay and its lack of a leisure strategy.

Alok Sharma, Conservative MP for Reading, said: “Reading Labour spend so much time fighting each other, no wonder local Reading residents get little attention and such a raw deal from this badly run Labour council.”

Councillor Jo Lovelock, leader of RBC, said: “It is really typical of Alok Sharma to be hugely negative about everyone else.

“I would suggest people reading our manifesto to see what a positive agenda we have got. We are all working very hard on the elections and very focused on that.

“We have picked up that Conservatives voters are very disappointed with their party and I imagine Alok Sharma has realised that too.”

Reading Momentum called for new leadership with a ‘positive vision’ in a statement on April 2.

The statement read: “Momentum Reading, along with many other party activists, believes that our Labour council needs new leadership.

“Reading needs a Labour council leadership that will drive a positive vision for our town, based on our party’s values of justice and equality, pursuing nationally agreed policies and in tune with the needs and wishes of our communities.

“Reading’s Labour council has had to deal with the impact of massive, vicious and discriminatory Tory austerity driven cuts to its spending budget.

“It has been under huge pressure and has clearly done its best to mitigate the impact of these.

“But these shortcomings are not about the cuts, more about governance, effective management and vision.

“If we carry on like this, then sooner or later the electorate will start wondering why they should elect a Labour council at all.

“Even under the cosh of Tory austerity there are Labour councils developing innovative approaches; we need to do the same.”

Momentum is a pro-Corbyn political organisation solely made up of Labour Party members.

Cllr Lovelock said: “Momentum’s tactics across the country are to be critical of people when they can.

“We work very hard to find solutions to keep our services going despite the massive £58 million reduction in funding.

“Reading Momentum should be focusing on what we have tried to achieve rather than nit-picking. “

The Reading outpost of Momentum called the council’s proposals to outsource revenues and benefits, as well as recreation and leisure, ‘contrary to national Labour Party policy’ and attacked the leadership for its handling of swimming pools.

The organisation also slammed the council’s failed MRT scheme as of ‘no real benefit to local residents’ and hit out at the leadership for ‘fighting the unions in the courts for years’ over equal pay.

Further criticism was launched at the council for receiving an ‘inadequate’ rating for its Children’s Services from Ofsted and then being forced to create a company to take over the department.