Dining across the divide: ‘On the climate, he liked a graph. I’m a little more: show me the evidence’

The topic of global heating saw temperatures rise, but could they find common cause on asylum seekers?

Martyn, 44, Sheffield

Occupation IT nerd/solutions architect

Voting record In the past, Labour, pretty consistently. Will now have a look at who stands a better chance of winning between the Lib Dems and the Greens

Amuse bouche Last year, Martyn entered an orienteering event and came first in his age category. Also last, as he was the only person in that category

Alan, 62, Cleethorpes

Occupation Semi-retired after a career in construction

Voting record Has always been a Conservative voter; was a member until the last election. Now thinks Reform is most likely to grow the economy

Amuse bouche Alan’s passion is skiing, especially with the Rossendale Special Ski Club, for people with special needs. He and his wife sponsor skiers to take part in the Special Olympics. Last year, one person won gold and another bronze

For starters

Alan He was a nice, friendly guy – open. I was pleased he wasn’t confrontational or argumentative.

Martyn On paper, he is completely opposite to me. I meet him, and he’s slightly older but really welcoming.

Alan I had the haddock house special.

Martyn I had the calamari, then pan-fried salmon with pasta.

The big beef

Alan I read reports from both sides. There are scientists who say absolutely CO₂ is rising, but it’s not a problem. Actually, there aren’t more hurricanes than ever before: some of them might be more severe, but in the past 10 years, globally, there have been fewer than in the previous 10 years. The answer to it all, apparently, is that we pay more money and we can stop it. It doesn’t sit with me. How does me buying an electric car that’s got a huge carbon footprint stop it?

Martyn I’m quite an environmentalist: I think climate change is definitely human-made, it’s real. His view on it was: it’s just carbon dioxide, the Earth has always produced it, it’s gone up, it’s gone down – why is that a problem? I tried to explain that there’s so much more to it than that. I got my phone out and showed him what I thought was a really simple graphic to hit home.

Alan He liked a graph. I think I’m a little bit more, “Show me the evidence. Show me where the acid rain is destroying crops.” Martyn’s more, “The science says, graphs this, graphs that.” At that point in the night, it was amusing. I’ve got graphs on my phone, too, but I’m not going to get them out.

Martyn He had huge problems with Ed Miliband’s approach to net zero. He did seem to have issues with specific people. It was about the economics of it, absolutely. He thought the focus on implementation was far too high and didn’t see the point in it. But I do think I made him think a little bit.

Sharing plate

Alan Since Keir Starmer has been prime minister, we’ve had 70,000 – I’m going to call them illegals, Martyn won’t – which is the size of Grimsby, in 18 months, which he didn’t think was a problem. Well, when is it a problem? When we have 250,000? A million? There was no definitive answer to that from Martyn. His father was a teacher and his mum was a careers adviser, and they’re from Sheffield, diversity has been a part of his life, and he sees it as a benefit. I haven’t got a problem with immigration, not at all – my mother-in-law is an immigrant. But we need control over our borders.

Martyn He kept going to illegal immigration, but the routes to asylum are so limited, you have to be physically stood on UK territory to claim it. These people coming across are called illegal immigrants, but they’re coming from really horrific situations, and they are wanting safety. He seemed to very much agree that for people wanting to claim asylum, we should make it far easier. He was talking about having places dotted around the world where you could go and claim asylum; he didn’t seem averse to that idea.

For afters

Alan I quite like the idea that Reform have where if you want to stay indefinitely in this country, you apply for British citizenship. It gives you a sense of identity.

Martyn I really disagreed with that. Why should people have to change their nationality? To force people to become British is a little cruel.

Takeaways

Alan We went on down the road to the last true pub in Cleethorpes and had a couple of beers. I enjoyed the night.

Martyn I woke up the next morning with a rather savage hangover. Really good fun. It was brilliant.

Additional reporting: Kitty Drake

• Alan and Martyn ate at Casa Nostra in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire

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