The survey's results mirror the council's own spending priorities: by far the biggest share goes on social services, ranging from looking after elderly and disabled residents to protecting children. But while the public recognise the importance of this, they may not grasp the difficulties presented.

Councils have been cutting spending for years; one of the reasons things like road maintenance and libraries lose out is because they simply can't stop caring for the vulnerable. Red tape can be pruned, admin made more efficient, but that may shave little off care budgets.

And the challenge isn't just to cope with yet another spending cut - the city council reckon they must save £28m next year. It's to do so even as demand for social care services is rising; the West has one of the country's fastest-growing elderly populations.

Between now and 15 November, there will be much talk of each candidate's 'vision for Bristol'. The reality after 16 November will largely be trying to continue doing what's already done - but with less money.

And then there's money. Funding is falling by £15m over a four-year period. The challenge that brings was highlighted by a recent survey of Wiltshire police staff. It indicated morale was low, with many officers believing there weren't enough of them to get the job done.

The commissioner will want to maintain an enviable record on crime: the force likes to boast that Wiltshire is the safest county in Britain, with violent crime particularly low.

That may make it hard for candidates to promise any dramatic changes. Labour and the Conservatives have both picked who'll stand, while the Liberal Democrats have yet to choose. Despite the £70,000 salary, there may not be any other candidates; taking on the muscle of the major political parties in a big place like Wiltshire is daunting.

North Somerset Council are enormously relieved that their cuts programme has not been derailed, but it's cost them an estimated £65,000.

For the young people who'd taken their campaign from the council chamber to the court room, it's a deep disappointment.

It's just the latest example of courts sitting in judgement on politicians. The same lawyers took on Somerset and Gloucestershire County Councils last year, and brought a (temporary) halt to library cuts.

That's why this decision will be watched and noted by many outside North Somerset.

But the council want to look to the future - and highlight the fact that most youth centres have survived, with communities stepping forward as North Somerset steps back.

The law itself is complex. Three barristers presented evidence relating to both the Equalities Act 2010 and education legislation. The judge will take some weeks to decide whether the council erred in the way it acted. What disheartens councillors is that he won't pay much attention to their financial difficulties.

The outcome of this case will be watched by many. There's been a rise in the number of legal challenges to council cuts; most notably plans to cut library services by Somerset and Gloucestershire were ruled illegal in November 2010.

But there is one big difference with this case - North Somerset's youth service cuts have already begun. That means a rapid ruling is wanted by everyone.

Barbara Janke is proud of her record leading the Liberal Democrats, increasing their councillors, and winning the party overall control of the city.

But there was dissent within the ranks; for one year she was even deposed as group leader. And the Lib Dems' rise wasn't sustained: at times they've gone backwards, including in 2011 when they lost the majority they'd gained two years earlier.

And across the council chamber relations have sometimes been fraught. In 2003 there was deadlock when no group wanted to take charge. The eventual three-party power-sharing deal was never easy, and the "rainbow council" collapsed the following year.

However, success is sometimes judged by lack of failure. The fact that Bristol's no longer notorious for its high council tax and poor schools is a legacy she'll hope to be remembered by.

This time it's the other way round - and the Tories hope history doesn't repeat itself. They've presently got a comfortable majority, but boundary changes, and reducing the number of councillors by two to 57, forces them into an all-out election at a difficult time.

Being in government nationally usually means punishment at the polls locally. The age of austerity doesn't help - and some of the council's cuts have been very controversial.

Add to that the economic woes - Swindon's got some of the highest unemployment in the West Country - and voters may be looking for change.

The Liberal Democrats with four seats, and UKIP with one (a former Tory), are small fry here.

Be in no doubt: Swindon's a battle between the big two, Conservatives and Labour, and there are going to be casualties.

Rule by cabinets is pretty modern: councils were pushed towards it by the last government, which regarded the committee system as slow and ineffective.

If South Gloucestershire makes the change, it may be the first in the land to use a clause in the new Localism Act allowing councils to switch back.

Others may follow, for the cabinet model leaves large numbers of councillors feeling frustrated on the backbenches.

And it would mark not just the end of a system; it might also be the end of South Gloucestershire Council's longstanding spirit of consensus and co-operation.

The council's ruling Conservatives have complained repeatedly that they get a raw deal from government funding, while reminding residents that council tax level is lower than many of their neighbours.

But they also want to be financially prudent. £1.5m is being set aside so council tax doesn't have to jump up next year.

Their opponents say it would be more prudent to spend some of that money now, avoiding drastic steps such as the termination of youth services.

After initially defending it, Andrew Kerr yielded to pressure and cancelled his rise, accepting it looked bad when other staff were losing their jobs.

His own departure has come as a bolt from the blue. Also going will be one of Wiltshire Council's four corporate directors.

It has surprised many, including colleagues, senior councillors and unions.

The Conservative administration says the "deletion" of these posts will save £500,000 a year. But the leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats has described it as "insane".

For councils everywhere these are unprecedented times, with unprecedented financial pressures.

Few though have tried anything quite as radical.

An intriguing insight into the difficulties facing a minister who's long called for culling was provided in this revealing interview by my Politics Show colleague Martyn Oates.

Many farmers think this would help bring down rates of TB in cattle, which have risen for most of the last 20 years.

Nowhere is worse-affected by the disease than the West country, so I've been investigating - and it's proved fascinating, especially when you look at the small print of the government's proposal.

On page 12 of Annex F attached to the large consultation document is this line: "For farmers in cull area, monetised costs exceed expected monetised benefits."

Put simply, farmers will end up out of pocket - while the government department, Defra, will be quids in. For it presently compensates them for most of their losses due to TB, but won't be paying for any cull.

And the proposed culls come with some challenging conditions: they must continue for four years, and cover at least 150 km² (in the West country that would likely mean well over 100 farms).

Even if Defra can get enough farmers on board who will stay the course (and the cost), there is the science.

It was a Conservative government that initiated the biggest ever study: the Independent Scientific Group spent over £50 million and nearly a decade to decide that culling wasn't worth it.

The last Labour government accepted this advice.

Now a Conservative Agriculture minister, James Paice, must decide whether to go against it - and be confident it'll stand up in court.

Be in no doubt, that is where it will end up, cautions Neil Parish MP, member of the Defra Select Committee, and himself a one-time Somerset farmer.

"All decisions can be judicially reviewed. This one will be," he says. "If we don't make the decision in the right way, then the judicial review would probably go against us and we will not have a cull."

Defra are saying very little, except that there'll be an announcement before Parliament's summer recess.

Ministers may want to find a remote holiday home to see out the ensuing row...

Three years ago I visited the village of Kingsdon in South Somerset to report on one village's struggle against closures.

Its post office and primary school were under threat, and there were worries about bus services.

On that week's Politics Show West we interviewed Stuart Burgess, who'd just completed a detailed study for the Labour government into rural life.

He made recommendations, and encouraged local communities to help themselves. Kingsdon seemed to be listening; an active local campaign was underway to keep its facilities open.

A year later the Liberal Democrats who ran Somerset County Council were swept from power; they'd been strongly cricitised by the victorious Conservatives for presiding over a record number of small school closures.

Then in May 2010 the Labour government, so often accused of ignoring the needs of rural England, was swept from power.

Twelve months on, we invited Stuart Burgess back and looked again at what was happening in the countryside.

This time we visited the Cotswolds, and found plenty of worries: libraries closing, and many bus services being cut as Gloucestershire County Council slashes spending.

We didn't go back go Kingsdon: there wouldn't have been much to see.

The post office is long gone. The county council officially killed off its school in May.

New political administrations are in charge, but the situation in the rural West country seems only to have got worse.

So what happened?

Well, perhaps there aren't as many differences between politicians as they'd have us believe.

And then there are events, dear boy, events.

Like the global recession.

Here, in one place, you'll be able to find all my latest updates on politics in the West of England - plus analysis and a selection of my TV reports.

We hope this new style will make it easier for you to follow me and engage with my BBC stories. Please let us know what you think of the new format.