The West Country Debate May: Farming, rent reform and local election fallout

• Catch up on May's edition of The West Country Debate

This week the Prime Minister and Environment Secretary met representatives from across the UK supply chain to discuss support for the country's food industry.

But, as the Devon County Show takes place, many farmers say it's becoming more and more expensive to produce food.

On the panel for May's edition of The West Country Debate:

• James Gray, Conservative MP for North Wiltshire

• Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP for Bath

• Dan Norris, Labour Metro Mayor for the West of England

Farming

With inflation continuing to drive up costs, many farmers are calling for more support from the Government.

The panel agreed that the commitments from the meeting are positive but only if they are followed up:

Rent Reform

A new law tabled in Parliament would abolish no-fault evictions and end bans on pets. It would also stop bans on tenants who claim benefits, and make it easier for landlords to repossess properties from anti-social tenants.

The panel suggested different parts of the issue to focus on:

Local Elections

Jacob Rees-Mogg has called on the Government and Rishi Sunak to be more ambitious. The north East Somerset MP's intervention is a sign the critics of the Prime Minister are getting louder.

It comes after the party had a tough set of local elections a fortnight ago. They were replaced by Labour in Plymouth and Swindon and lost control of a host of other councils including South Gloucestershire and South Hams.