Dining across the divide: ‘He looked like a typical Green voter – long hair, laid-back, that sort of thing’

6 hours ago 3

Philip, 51, Milton Keynes

Occupation Unemployed

Voting record Describes himself as a “centrist” and has voted both Labour and Conservative. Definitely Reform next time

Amuse bouche A plan to visit Machu Picchu for his 50th birthday turned into a seven-month trip, travelling the length of South America overland. “Best thing I’ve ever done”

Carl, 37, Milton Keynes

Occupation Primary school teacher

Voting record Always Labour but describes himself as somewhere between Labour, Green and “leftwing progressive”

Amuse bouche Carl used to do body piercing, but apart from a pierced ear doesn’t have any himself. “I had one eye on the fact that it wasn’t going to be for ever”

For starters

Carl It was a small Italian restaurant, busy and vibrant, lovely staff. I had a vegan pie, then apple crumble. I drank water because I was driving, and it was a school night. Philip seemed like a nice bloke, he’d had a lot of life experiences.

Philip I had a fillet steak, then a chocolate brownie. And a mocktail. The food was really good. Carl looked like a typical Green voter – long hair, laid-back, that sort of thing. I told him I’d been unemployed for a while, sending out lots of CVs and going to interviews, but not hearing back. There is discrimination against older people.

Philip and Carl chatting and eating at a restaurant table

The big beef

Carl Of course the boats should stop. People are dying in the Channel, that’s not a good thing. They should have safe, legal routes and be assessed to see if they have a genuine claim. The current debate has been massively overheated by a vocal, well-funded minority position, and it’s taken all the compassion out of it.

Philip If we did something wrong in a country – places like Iraq where we went in stupidly and disrupted people’s lives – or someone worked as a translator and they now can’t work in their country, we should take them. But people are falsely claiming they are going to be killed. I read about someone who successfully claimed asylum and then went back to his country for eight weeks. His asylum should be revoked and he should be sent back.

Carl There are lots of assumptions – that they’re just here for handouts – and the facts are being lost. It worries me that that sort of view is becoming prevalent, not just among fringe elements, but ordinary members of society. There’s a constant overlaying of this in a lot of the British media landscape.

Philip Conservatives and Labour have had their time, and the chance to do a good job and do what they say. I’m planning to vote Reform because they will control immigration in a way that is better for this country.

Sharing plate

Carl I brought up my own history when we were talking about immigration. My grandparents were Ukrainians who were taken to work in Hitler’s factories in Germany. After the war, they came to the UK seeking sanctuary, on the compassion of the British people.

Philip I have a similar family story. My grandma was Jewish, living in Austria, so she had to leave because of the war. Some of her family went to live in the US, but her immediate family came to Britain.

For afters

Carl Philip was interested in my opinions on bicycles. In Milton Keynes we have traffic-free paths, but in other places I’ve lived you have cyclists jumping red lights, weaving in between cars, on and off the pavement. If you’re using the road, you should pay tax. And that tax could then be used to create cycle lanes so that cyclists can be kept off the road.

Philip I’m unemployed and I cycle: how would I pay for tax and insurance? My bike has very little effect on the road. If you go on a bus, you’re using the road, should you pay tax for that? How do they expect you to get from A to B? And there’s no such thing as road tax, it just goes into the pot.

Takeaways

Philip It’s like speed dating for people with different views. In some ways we’re all the same: we want a quality of life, a place to live that’s safe and clean, not streets with burned-out houses where no one collects the rubbish.

Carl You don’t have to spend your time screaming at people on the internet. You can talk to real people about real issues. This was a really nice experience, I’d do it again.