Joe, a Green party member from Trafford, and Keith, a Labour-voting Brexiter from Cheshire, met for dinner and discovered they had more in common than expected, despite their differing views on the EU.
First impressions
Joe, 41, a university press officer, admitted he had formed a view of Keith's character before meeting him, but found him warm and friendly. "It was like two old friends. It was just so comfortable," he said.
Keith, 89, a retired journalist who once owned a shipping newspaper, said he was not nervous at all. "I'm used to talking to people and it didn't bother me," he said.
The EU divide
Joe said Keith was set on the idea that the EU is anti-democratic. "The arguments I had about the damage that leaving the EU has done to the British economy – how it has destroyed exports and left us isolated – he agreed with. But none of it mattered to him," Joe said. "I thought he was going to be quite 'stop the boats, bring up the drawbridge', but he wasn't like that at all."
Keith said he voted for Brexit for independence, not for the economy. He blamed Theresa May and Boris Johnson for letting the process drag on. "You should never be governed by people you can't vote out of office," he said.
Joe noted that Keith agreed with Nigel Farage on the European superstate, but was also "really anti-Trump, and really anti the rightwing position on migrants."
Common ground
On the NHS, Joe said they were not far apart. He pointed to PFI payments as a major issue, a view Keith shared, though Keith said he would be open to other ways of bringing in private money.
On energy, Keith said he was all for renewables and cutting pollution, but disagreed with the pace of change. Joe argued that drilling in the North Sea would not benefit British consumers, as the oil would be sold on international markets.
As they parted, Joe regretted not taking Keith's email address, and Keith lamented that they would likely never meet again. They ate at La Cantina in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
