In a Nottingham fish and chip shop, an unexpected political meeting of minds took place. Andrew, a 70-year-old retired acupuncturist and lifelong Labour voter, sat down with Jonathan, a 49-year-old technology company manager and traditional Conservative supporter.
An Unlikely Political Pairing
The two men, brought together for the Guardian's Dining Across the Divide series, discovered they shared more common ground than either anticipated. Andrew from near Nottingham revealed he had voted Labour for fifty years but felt thoroughly disillusioned with the party. Meanwhile, Jonathan from Nottingham confessed he had always voted Conservative until the 2024 election, when he switched to Labour.
"We're both disaffected with where politics has gone in this country," Andrew observed during their meal at The Cod's Scallops. "We both recognise that the biggest problem we've got is this massive inequality, and neither of us think the parties we used to be aligned with are addressing it."
Finding Consensus on Workers' Rights and Oligarchs
The conversation turned to trade unions, where their different backgrounds initially created tension. Andrew, a former Unison shop steward, passionately defended unions as essential for democracy and workers' bargaining power. Jonathan recalled his family's traditional Tory view that "trade unions would bring the country down."
Yet they found surprising agreement. "Given what I see in the world today, especially in the US where people have no rights, workers definitely have to have a voice," Jonathan conceded. Both men strongly criticised tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, with Jonathan stating: "I don't think that's the way the world needs to go, to have very, very rich people controlling the vast majority of the wealth."
Unexpected Political Ally in Green Politics
Perhaps the most remarkable moment came when both men expressed admiration for Zack Polanski of the Green Party. "We both came out saying 'Zack Polanski is a breath of fresh air'," Andrew revealed. Jonathan, though previously viewing Greens as "a bit fluffy," acknowledged that "Zack's on to something."
They also found common cause on immigration, agreeing that while no country can afford endless economic migration, all nations must properly process those arriving on their shores and protect those genuinely in need.
The dinner concluded on a warm note, with Andrew saying he'd buy Jonathan a beer if they met again, and Jonathan reflecting that they "could both see where the other was coming from." Their conversation demonstrates that even across Britain's deep political divides, shared concerns about inequality and the search for fresh political voices can create unexpected connections.
