A war of words has erupted over Wokingham Borough Council’s spending plans – with MPs and councillors trading barbs.

Wokingham’s Conservative MP John Redwood last week issued a broadside against the Liberal Democrat controlled council over its plans to cut back on public litter bins and grass mowing.

He said the council had more “spending power per head” than nearby Reading, Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Hampshire councils, pointing to a recent report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies think tank.

Now Liberal Democrat councillor Clive Jones – set to challenge Redwood at the next general election – has accused him of wanting council tax to be increased.

Councillor Jones says this is because the think tank’s report suggests the council needs less government funding due to the relatively high number of affluent households in the borough.

Councillor Jones said: “Sir John, like the recent Institute of Fiscal Studies report, mixes up the total wealth of individuals in the borough with the money available to the council to pay for services.

“The report suggests that the council should raise more money locally and get even less government support than it does now. It seems that Sir John endorses that position. In other words, Sir John favours a big increase in council tax.”

READ MORE: John Redwood tells Wokingham council not to cut litter bins

But Mr Redwood insisted he doesn’t back council tax increases – arguing that extra government grants, such as one awarded to support special educational needs mean the council should be able to cover its costs.

He said: “I do not favour any additional council tax increase and have never called for one.

“Why do the Lib Dem administration deny the large sums and increases they are receiving from government for core services? Why are they so bad at managing the extra money that they need to think of cutting services like litter, refuse collection and keeping the place tidy?”

Councillor Jones also accused the Conservative group in Wokingham of playing “the worst sort of party politics,” and of trying to shift the blame from the government onto the council leaders.

He said that while the Conservatives were in charge of the council, they often spoke of how the council was squeezed – receiving less core government per resident than any other in England.

“Suddenly, now the Lib Dems are in charge, both Sir John and the Conservative Leader of the Opposition, Pauline Jorgensen, are making out that council funding is all fine,” councillor Jones said.

But councillor Jorgensen has argued the IFS report does not suggest a tax increase and instead highlights the authority has more money per head to spend than its neighbours through both tax and government grants. Instead, she argues, the report shows the need to spend ‘more efficiently’.

The councillor explained Wokingham has long been low-funded as an affluent area but that the Conservatives continue to call for more support. She noted the council had success in acquiring schooling grants this year.

She added: “The Lib Dems need to work harder and innovate more, as we did, to make the money go further rather than just complaining and making knee-jerk cuts to basic services.”