Dining Across the Divide: A Encounter Among Opposing Perspectives

Introducing the Individuals

One Diner: P., 34, from London

Occupation Ex- government employee, currently a learner studying community health

Voting record Supported the Green Party recently (also a member of the political group); formerly Labour. Describes himself as “progressive, and globalist instead of nationalist”

Interesting fact A sketch of a tea cup Peter did as a child was once displayed in the National Gallery of Ireland

Second Diner: A., 43, Harrow

Occupation Risk manager in the infrastructure industry

Political history Originally from the Indian subcontinent, he has lived in the UK for five years, and supported the Conservative Party. Identifies as “somewhat right of centre”

Amuse bouche He self-learned to understand the Urdu language. “I have no use for it, I simply found it intriguing”

For starters

Akshat Over the last 20 years, I have resided and been employed in Qatar, South Korea, the United States. The topics we talked about are focused on Britain, but they are also global, because people's lives largely follows the same curve wherever it is. I was expecting a staunch liberal, but he was quite measured – we engaged in a good, rational discussion. I drank beer, he opted for mojitos.

Peter We shared appetizers – seafood rolls, dumplings, radish cakes with sprouts, which were superb. I was a little nervous, as I believe Akshat was. Was he going to attack me for being a snowflake? We each have immigrant backgrounds. My childhood was in Dublin; I’ve lived in the United States and Spain. We connected through our affection for the capital.

Key disagreements

Akshat I look at immigration similar to sprinkling salt to a dish. With a small amount, the dish tastes wonderful. Use too little or too much and the dish is either too bland or too salty.

The second participant Akshat used an analogy regarding seasoning. It would be odd to be if the government was selecting some preferred demographic of the nation.

The first participant There are, sadly, people escaping oppression, but many people arriving in the UK are economic migrants who do not necessarily add significant value and can burden the welfare system. Nobody forces you to go to a different nation for prospects, so you should only go if you can take care of yourself and your relatives.

Peter We became confused with some of the facts. I don’t think it’s like you come over and work and then after five years you obtain indefinite leave to remain. Nothing is automatic. It’s been a hostile environment for some time, visa fees are quite expensive, there is an healthcare levy, access to benefits is restricted. There is no special treatment for anyone. And regarding the new policies, whereby family reunification is restricted, it’s incredible to say: we want your work, but we don’t want you. I think we have to have a degree of humanity.

Sharing plate

The first participant Peter’s sceptical of unregulated markets. I am, too, but at the same time, wealth creation helps communities and should be encouraged.

The second participant We’re both internationalist. And we agreed that certain elements of the community – government, the media – benefit from stoking division. We did find common ground in fundamentals and values.

Dessert and debate

The first participant Peter is of the opinion that because the UK benefitted from colonial times, it ought to provide compensation to those countries. My view is simply: it is unfair to assess history with present day morality; eras vary, current society had no control of what happened decades or a century ago. Let’s say the UK had to compensate India, it would be a significant sum of funds. Is Britain able to do that? Certainly not.

The second participant Until recently, I believe there was much reckoning with colonial history. As an instance, when I first moved to the United Kingdom, people weren’t aware of the Great Famine and the part that imperial rule contributed to it. My view is decolonisation isn’t just about issuing payments, it ought to involve examining what went wrong and our current responsibilities.

Final thoughts

Akshat It won’t change the way I think, but I appreciate his worries. I talk to people every day with opinions are opposite to mine. The goal is bringing everyone to the same page, in order that everyone can strive for the betterment of society.

The second participant We remained for 150 minutes. He enjoyed a sweet treat and I drank a Japanese dessert wine. I didn’t persuade him of any point, but we each liked dinner, so we could hopefully be more receptive to having conversations with others in the coming times.