Council elections 2022: Plaid Cymru launches campaign

Plaid Cymru councillors "make a real difference to people's everyday lives," party leader Adam Price will say as he launches its local election campaign.

On Friday he will cite Plaid councils' policy of aiming to extend free school meals to all their secondary school pupils as a clear example.

Plaid Cymru currently leads four councils in Wales - Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Anglesey and Gwynedd.

The party made modest gains overall at the previous local elections, in 2017.

Increasing its majority in Gwynedd and becoming the largest party in Anglesey, it raised its tally of councillors across Wales by 33 to 202 five years ago.

There were also significant gains in councils that included Rhondda Cynon Taf, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot.

Joined by council candidates at an event in Deganwy, Conwy, Mr Price will list three key priorities to put before voters on polling day on 5 May - free school meals, housing and safeguarding jobs and incomes.

Free meals are already being extended to all children in primary education under Plaid's co-operation agreement with Labour ministers in the Senedd, starting this September with some of the youngest pupils.

Mr Price announced that Plaid Cymru-led councils would aim to extend the offer to all secondary school pupils in his party's conference speech last month.

On Friday he will emphasise the party's policy to "tackle Wales's housing crisis by building more energy-efficient, genuinely affordable housing, and take radical action on second homes and ending homelessness".

He will also promise to "strengthen local supply chains and support local businesses - safeguarding local jobs and incomes in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis that many simply can't absorb".

"This is Plaid Cymru at its best - taking action to make a real difference to people's everyday lives," he will say.

The Plaid Cymru leader will also launch the party's local election manifesto entitled "Making a Difference".

Mr Price says the document "identifies problems, offers solutions, and most importantly, proves how having Plaid Cymru councillors are making a difference in communities all throughout Wales".

Speaking ahead of Friday's launch event, Mr Price said Wales needs "strong local voices who refuse to accept this is as good as it gets for our communities".

"Plaid Cymru councillors have a strong track record of standing side by side with people they represent - from running food banks to leading on the clean up after floods," he said.

"And over the past two years, Plaid Cymru's four council leaders and their teams have gone above and beyond to protect public health in their communities by ensuring children could continue to learn, businesses could continue to trade, and key services such as rubbish collections could continue to function."