Dining across the divide: ‘He was quite apologetic about some of his past voting choices’

3 hours ago 2

David, 47, Surrey

Occupation Pharmaceutical physician

Voting record Has always been a Conservative, but has fallen out of love with the party and only votes for them now because the MP is his best friend

Amuse bouche Politics is his hobby – he stood for the Conservatives in Scotland, circa 2015, and is a former chair and president of the association

Yung Yung, 41, London

Occupation Accountant

Voting record Last voted Green – but only because she’s in a safe Labour seat

Amuse bouche Was a contestant on The Chase last year – got to the final, and that was good enough for her

For starters

David It was a slightly artificial environment. It was a really small restaurant. We were polite but a bit wary to begin with.

Yung Yung He was very well put together – I think he had a suit on; he was quite traditional.

David We shared starters, some pork buns and squid, then I had beef and kimchi noodles.

Yung Yung He actually let me order the starters. Then, for the main, I had a beef and rice dish.

David and Yung Yung talking while sitting opposite each other at a restaurant table

The big beef

David Not through any particular planning or judgment, my wife and I have a second home. She’s Australian, and we never sold the house that she moved from; it’s rented out. People who’ve got a bit of money who want somewhere away from the city for the weekends, I don’t begrudge that. I think the government currently disincentivises it. You pay more money, more tax, more stamp duty, all that sort of stuff, so I think the balance is about right.

Yung Yung I disagree with people buying a second property just to leave it empty. It destroys the community; local people can’t afford to buy. And the worst of it is, if it’s empty, the local people can’t even rent it. We both agreed that the government is doing quite a bit in deterring second home ownership. If you’re not a first-time buyer and you’re buying a second home, you already pay a premium. But I think people who have enough money to buy a second home might need more of a financial deterrent.

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Sharing plate

David I was a remainer in the Scottish independence referendum, and what I mean by that is, I wore a lapel badge every single day, saying: “No, thanks”. I got out and I persuaded people; I was passionate about it. It wasn’t complicated for me in the slightest. Although I voted for Brexit, I thought the issue was horrendously complicated. I’ve got a view on referendums: if the issue is clear cut, don’t ask the people, just legislate; and if the issue is too complicated, never have a referendum.

Yung Yung He mentioned how the EU had treated Greece really badly. That seemed to be his main reason for opposing EU membership – he really, really likes Greek wine. I voted remain, and, actually, I don’t think I had the chance to explain why. To be fair, he did ask my views. But I felt like we kept trying to come to a consensus view, before we really agreed.

David and Yung Yung talking clinking glasses and smiling while sitting opposite each other at a restaurant table

For afters

David On immigration, the numbers have become huge – it’s distorting elections because we’re not having a national conversation about what we want in terms of workforce, and the whole argument is dominated by the small boats, which is a humanitarian crisis not a migration crisis. You could eliminate crossings tomorrow and it’s not going to change people’s experience of migration, because those numbers are tiny. It’s just been weaponised by the Conservatives and Reform.

Yung Yung He said: “A million people coming in is too much.” But he didn’t really expand on that, and I felt that was a place he could have stood his ground or tried to bring me around to his point of view. My view is that the UK does have a responsibility to take in people. Outside London, there’s actually quite a lot of space, and people coming in to contribute to the economy should be welcomed.

Takeaways

David We were remarkably vulnerable and open with each other, in a way that you probably wouldn’t be even on a first date, because you’d be trying to get a second date.

Yung Yung He was quite apologetic about some of his past voting choices and recognised that some decisions his party had made weren’t in the nation’s best interests. I think there is a decent human being under all that.