John, 64, Cirencester
Occupation Retired banknote manufacturer, now a consultant to the banknote industry
Voting record A tribal Conservative – John is a party member and has always voted Tory
Amuse bouche In 2018, he sailed across the North Pacific in the Clipper round the world yacht race. He says it was marvellous
Jonny, 62, Oxford
Occupation Retired mental health nurse
Voting record Voted for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour in 2017 and 2019, but other than that has never voted in a general election. Tends to vote for independent candidates in local elections
Amuse bouche Jonny is involved in goat husbandry and knocks up a simple farmhouse cheese that he can eat in a day
For starters
John There he was with his goatee beard, the sides of his head shaved, tattoos everywhere, those funny earrings that people grow into their ears. But never judge a book by its cover. I jumped to the wrong conclusion. We had a lovely time.
Jonny He immediately struck me as very affable, and I had a good feeling about him.
John It was some of the best Indian and Thai food that I’ve had in a very long time.
Jonny I had momo dumplings, and then goat curry with coconut rice. I’m fond of goats when they’re alive, I’m fond of goats after they die. When they knock me flying in the paddock, I remind them that they’re going to be in a curry all too soon.
The big beef
John My father was an army officer, my mother was a teacher, and we served the state. We did what the government told us to do. So service connected Jonny and me – he’s a nurse, he has a really strong sense of service. But one of the reasons I joined the Conservative party, the reasons I always vote, is I believe I have a voice, I believe I can make a difference, I believe in “we” – that was the difference between Jonny and me.
Jonny The nation is, on the one hand, a community of citizens. And, on the other hand, the people who administer the nation on the world stage, economically and militarily, are not the likes of me. I will always be reluctant to use a “we”. My class did not own slaves. I don’t see myself as a stakeholder in Britain – I do see myself as belonging to this island.
John He doesn’t seem to have a strong sense of nation. But he does have a really strong sense of localism and community, and that’s something we shared.
Jonny I’m required to pay taxes, and my taxes fund certain things and I have precious little say over that, effectively. Our democratic system does not enable us to give piecemeal consent, we have to give overall consent. I have always considered myself not just leftwing, but basically a communist.
Sharing plate
John I went to boarding school when I was seven. Luckily, it was deeply faith-driven, and it was a very kind environment. At boarding school, you have to be able to assess the power, see who’s up, who’s down, who’s going to give you a hard time.
Jonny It quickly emerged we both attended independent boarding schools. And that triggered a discussion about membership of institutional settings. I said I’d spent a lot of time working with convicts and psychiatric inpatients, and actually going to a boys’ boarding school is quite like being in a psychiatric hospital.
For afters
Jonny We talked a bit in our boomerish way about how everybody’s quite caught up with the internet and not engaging with each other in real life.
John Parliamentarians spend their whole time speaking in the House of Commons with an eye on what they can post on Twitter and Facebook. I would ban even the recording of parliamentary debate, because they’re playing to the gallery and they’re not doing their jobs.
Takeaways
John I want to see Jonny again, I think he’s great.
Jonny Because I’m insecure and I overcompensate, I come across as this larger-than-life idiot and then I berate myself. But this morning he texted me – he did like me. And I liked him very much.
Additional reporting: Kitty Drake
John and Jonny ate at The 48, Swindon.
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