Local council elections 2022 - what difference can your vote make in Wales?

Nothing seems to aggravate people more than changes to their local bin collections or a pothole that needs fixing on their street.

But councils deliver an array of services - from planning permission, to schools and social services, and even cutting the grass.

They're services that people regularly see and use, which is why making decisions in these areas - good or bad - evoke such strong reactions.

But Meirion Jones, who is standing down from Anglesey Council, says a local authority can't always please everybody.

"Last year we imposed a tax on the green [garden waste] bin," he said.

"There were complaints. And of course, what one has to balance is you either charge for that service, to the people who are using it, or you put a penny on the rate - on the council tax.

"It's a balancing act. People have got genuine complaints, but I would really like people to think before they give the general complaint of 'Oh, it's the council again'. Because usually, the council has done a lot."

Council tax in Wales brings in nearly £1.3 billion a year, and accounts for nearly 20% of local authority spending.

Local government representatives have regularly railed against cuts to their budgets during the last decade and the pressures on council tax as a way of funding services.

The latest settlement has given authorities an increase in their budgets - but with inflation running at over 7%, finance will again dominate their thinking in the years ahead.

Local council elections traditionally see low numbers of people voting and there's no indication these set of elections will be any different.

They've also been seen as "second order" elections, with national factors having a significant role in voters' decision-making.

This could again be a key factor this time around, with events in Ukraine and the ongoing fallout from parties at Downing Street privately concerning some Conservative activists.

So a mix of the big picture and the local will define the result.