Dining across the divide: ‘He uses his phone to pay for everything. I prefer to use cash to protect my privacy’

4 hours ago 1

Martin R, 28, Bristol

Occupation Studying for a PhD in political theory

Voting record Has voted for centre-left parties in France and Spain. He can’t vote in the UK, but would probably vote Green if he could

Amuse bouche Despite his dual French/Spanish nationality, he has never lived in either country, having been born in Belgium and based in the UK for 10 years

Martin P, 68, Bristol

Occupation Retired ship design draftsman

Voting record Describes himself as centre-right but without political affiliation. Has recently voted Labour because of the local candidate for parliament, but Conservative in local elections. Leave in the EU referendum

Amuse bouche Once threw himself out of a plane with a man strapped to his back. After visiting lots of theme parks with his friends, he decided this was the next logical step

For starters

Martin P I arrived a bit early so, being in Spain, as it were – it was a tapas restaurant – I ordered a sherry. When Martin arrived, it emerged he has Spanish ancestry, and he had one too.

Martin R Bristol has historically been a big importer of sherry, so it’s interesting that I’ve ended up in a place that has a tie back to my roots.

Martin P I found him very easy to talk to – well educated and with good knowledge of the world.

Martin R Martin talked about coming out as gay, having been in a heterosexual marriage, with a daughter. It was very moving.

Martin R and Martin P talking over dinner and drinks

The big beef

Martin P We launched into the European convention on human rights, and I said it has gone too far. It’s being used as a get-out clause. There are foreign criminals claiming their right to family life because they have hooked up with some woman in this country and then they can’t be deported. He asked what if there’s a British criminal abroad, would you expect them to come back? I said absolutely, it should be fair for all.

Martin R It’s good to have supranational guarantees of rights. Since the UK left the EU, my right to work and healthcare and so on are no longer guaranteed by the country I’m living in. But I’m happy that I could potentially appeal to a higher authority than the British state if my rights were threatened.

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Martin P At times it has almost seemed that cases would be decided in England, and it would go to the European court of human rights, and they would reverse the decision on some arbitrary basis, almost as if – though I wouldn’t like to put my finger on it – they were punishing the UK for Brexit.

Martin R Even if we were to disagree with individual decisions the court makes, I don’t think that warrants scrapping it. People are going to find ways to abuse the system regardless of whether legislation comes from Brussels, Strasbourg or Westminster.

Sharing plate

Martin P We were both fearful about the rise of the far right in Europe and Trump coming back. The strange thing was, I was more optimistic. I’ve seen the cycle of the rise and fall of all sorts of things over my life.

Martin R We disagreed on particular issues – he’s a bit more authoritarian, and enthusiastic about the future – but we both had a distrust of abuses of power, and a similar sense of justice.

For afters

Martin P I use my phone and tap it for everything. Martin explained he was using cash more. I’m moving forward and embracing the technology, but he’s actually stepping back from that a bit.

Martin R I prefer to use cash. If the information about all my payments is available, and that data makes money for people, then why should I give that away for free? I don’t subscribe to the idea that if you have nothing to hide, then you should just give away all your privacy. I’ve considered just getting a landline, not having a mobile phone, but then I wouldn’t even be able to log into my emails these days without multi-factor authentication.

Takeaways

Martin R I expected him to hold views that were more consistent with stereotypes about somebody who wants to repeal the Human Rights Act and voted for Brexit. That’s the product of the fact that we don’t meet people who we disagree with in real life.

Martin P We were there over three hours. We finished with a continental hug. I said: “Are you a hugger?” because it’s not always the norm for a man in my generation. It would be nice if we bumped into each other again.