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Meeting the Individuals

One Participant: P., 34, London

Occupation Ex- government employee, now a student studying community health

Voting record Voted the Green Party recently (also a member of the party); formerly Labour. Identifies as “progressive, and globalist rather than patriotic”

Interesting fact A drawing of a teacup he did as a child was once displayed in the Irish National Gallery

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Second Participant: Akshat, 43, Harrow

Profession Risk manager in the infrastructure industry

Political history Hailing from India, he has lived in the UK for half a decade, and supported the Conservative Party. Identifies as “slightly moderate right”

Amuse bouche Akshat self-learned to understand the Urdu language. “It has no practical use for me, I was just fascinated”

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For starters

Akshat During the past two decades, I have resided and been employed in the Middle East, East Asia, the US. The issues we talked about are focused on Britain, but they are also universal, because human life more or less follows the same curve wherever it is. I anticipated a staunch liberal, but he was quite measured – we had a productive, logical conversation. I drank beer, he opted for mojitos.

Peter We split appetizers – fishy spring rolls, steamed buns, daikon cakes with beansprouts, which were excellent. I felt somewhat anxious, as I think Akshat was. Would he criticize me for my sensitivity? We’re both immigrants. I grew up in Dublin; I’ve lived in the US and Spain. We bonded over our affection for London.

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The big beef

Akshat I view immigration like adding salt to a dish. With a small amount, the dish tastes wonderful. Add too little or too much and the meal is either too bland or too salty.

The second participant He used an analogy about salt. It would be a funny place to exist if the state was selecting some ideal ethnic makeup of the country.

Akshat There are, sadly, people fleeing persecution, but many people arriving in the United Kingdom are economic migrants who do not necessarily contribute much and can weigh on the welfare system. No one compels you to move to a new country for opportunity, so you should only go if you are able to support yourself and your family.

The second participant We got lost with some of the facts. In my view it is the case that you come over and are employed and then after five years you get permanent citizenship. Nothing is automatic. It’s been a hostile environment for some time, application costs are quite expensive, there is an healthcare levy, access to benefits is limited. There is no special treatment for anybody. And regarding the new policies, whereby you can’t bring your family over, it’s incredible to say: we desire your labor, but we reject you as a person. I believe we have to have a degree of humanity.

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Common ground

The first participant Peter’s sceptical of unchecked capitalism. I am, too, but at the same time, economic growth helps communities and should be encouraged.

Peter We’re both internationalist. And we concurred that certain elements of the community – politics, the press – thrive off stoking division. We discovered shared understanding in fundamentals and values.

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For afters

Akshat Peter is of the opinion that since the UK benefitted from the colonial era, it should pay compensation to those countries. I simply think: you cannot judge history with present day morality; eras vary, modern people had no control of what happened decades or a century ago. Let’s say the UK was obliged to repay India, it would be a significant sum of money. Is Britain able to manage that? No.

Peter Until recently, I don’t think adequate reflection occurred with the colonial past. As an instance, when I first moved to the UK, the public weren’t aware of the Great Famine and the role that colonialism played in it. My view is decolonisation is not merely about signing a cheque, it ought to involve examining past errors and where we should be now.

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Takeaways

The first participant It may not alter the way I think, but I appreciate his worries. I talk to individuals regularly whose views are contrary to mine. It’s about uniting people to the common understanding, so that all of us can strive for the improvement of society.

The second participant We remained for two and a half hours. He enjoyed a sweet treat and I drank a Japanese dessert wine. I did not convince him of any point, but we both enjoyed dinner, so we might become more receptive to having conversations with others in the coming times.