An election U-turn has been welcomed by a Parliamentary hopeful with voters enduring “democracy by chaos”.

The government recently confirmed that local elections will go ahead this year with May 7 circled on the calendar.

Local Government Secretary, Steve Reed, had approved proposals to delay polls for a second year in the belief it would aid local authorities grappling with reorganisation.

But a legal challenge followed with numerous authorities around the country now scrambling to run elections.

While the decision has been welcomed by Dominic Martin, the Liberal Democrat candidate for East Hampshire has also criticised Labour and Conservative politicians for agreeing to cancel them in the first place.

He said cancelling elections for two years in areas like West Sussex was “an unacceptable erosion of local democracy”, adding that voters should never be treated as an inconvenience.

Mr Martin said: “I welcome the Government’s belated decision to reverse course, but we should be absolutely clear: Labour and the Conservatives were wrong to agree to cancel these elections at all.

“Democracy cancelled is democracy denied.”

Mr Martin pointed out his party’s councils in Hampshire refused to cancel elections, insisting voters had a right to have their say at the ballot box.

He added: “We believe elections should be decided by the public, not stitched up behind closed doors at Westminster.”

For parity, The Conservative leader of Hampshire County Council, Nick Adams-King, also previously said: “I have been clear that county elections are vital for local democracy and accountability.”

Dominic also criticised the way local government reorganisation is being handled by the current Labour government.

He said: “It is descending into the same kind of chaos we saw with Brexit.

“Poor planning, mixed messages and a complete lack of respect for voters are once again the hallmarks of government decision-making.”