The decision to cancel this year's elections in Norfolk has sparked a war of words among MPs, with Labour and Tories attempted to shift the blame to their rival's party.
Ministers have postponed Norfolk County Council and City Hall elections until 2027 following a consultation with council leaders.
They claim the delay will allow help with the progress of local government reform.
But while Mike Stonard, the Labour leader of Norwich City Council, clearly stated he wanted the vote to be cancelled, Kay Mason Billig, his Tory counterpart, refused to give a clear answer.
She did not ask for a delay but told ministers that going ahead with the elections would hamper the process of local government reform, which is due to see district and county councils abolished.
Even when asked by Steve Reed, the secretary of state for local government, to state her position more clearly, she declined to clarify her view.
The indecision has prompted Labour MPs in the region to blame her for the delay by not doing more to explicitly oppose it.
They accuse of wanting to postpone the vote because she fears the Tories will lose seats to their opponents.
Meanwhile, Norfolk's Tory MPs have laid the blame solely on Labour ministers.
Terry Jermy, Labour MP for South West Norfolk, said: "Ms Mason Billig and Norfolk Conservatives are being entirely disingenuous.
"They had every opportunity to request that Norfolk’s elections go ahead, but instead, they gave deliberate mixed messages.
"Dozens of councils asked for their elections to go ahead, and the government agreed with every single request.
"Norfolk Conservatives are treating people like fools by trying to hide behind their own ambiguity. If they wanted elections to take place, they would have said so. But they didn’t.
"My position has always been that the elections should happen. I wanted residents in Norfolk to have the opportunity to pass judgment on the Conservatives' appalling record in our county.
"However, it was a decision that was for Norfolk County Council to make, and they’ve bottled it."
Ben Goldsborough, Labour MP for South Norfolk, said Ms Mason Billig had "made a dog’s breakfast" of the issue.
"Instead of keeping to her promise of clearly saying the elections must go ahead, she created chaos, so much so that the minister had to write back again for clarity which continued to be missing," he added.
“The government has fulfilled the wishes of every council leader.
"All those who requested the elections to continue have been honoured. I believe the elections should have gone ahead but I guess the Conservatives in Norfolk may have another motive for not testing their support in our communities.”
But Conservative MPs in Norfolk have refused to be drawn on whether they think Ms Mason Billig should have taken a clear position on the matter.
Jerome Mayhew, MP for Broadland and Fakenham, said: "Labour should not have cancelled our elections in Norfolk.
"They have forced the council to spend time trying to make their huge local government reorganisation experiment work, but that is no excuse to stop elections.
"I have been clear from the start that democracy cannot be delayed at the whim of the government. This is Labour’s mess and they should own it."
James Wild, MP for North West Norfolk, said: “Norfolk County Council did not ask for them to be delayed. Norfolk Conservatives want the elections to go ahead, and I spent time last weekend with our excellent local candidates.
"Given the prime minister’s deep unpopularity and attacks on our high streets and hospitality businesses, it may be little wonder they are running from the electorate. But people will remember this as a bad day for democracy.”
Other Tory MPs think the whole project to abolish the existing councils to create one or more unitary authorities should be scrapped.
George Freeman, MP for Mid Norfolk, said: "Labour’s top-down abolition of local councils and cancelling of local elections is a misguided and worrying trend of ignoring local voters.
"I fear it will undermine hardworking councillors and councils already burdened with higher taxes and inflation and further damage local democracy when we should be doing the opposite.”
Both of the Norwich Labour MPs, Clive Lewis and Alice Macdonald, declined to comment.
Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk Steffan Aquarone and independent MP for Great Yarmouth, Rupert Lowe, have both criticised the election delay.
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