Andy, 36, Cambridgeshire
Occupation Development scientist
Voting record Historically has mostly voted Lib Dem; Labour in 2024
Amuse bouche Was once approached in a Cambridge kebab shop and asked to work on air pollution in Tehran. He declined as he already had a job
Matt, 37, Stretford, Greater Manchester
Occupation Civil servant
Voting record Voted Lib Dem once, but otherwise Labour all the way
Amuse bouche Had a UFO experience in his 20s. He saw three orange lights in the sky, in a triangle, moving independently
For starters
Andy He seemed very nice, composed and considered. I could tell we’d get on; there was a natural chemistry.
Matt He was an approachable, knowledgable and professional guy. I was expecting an influencer or a Twitch streamer, but he’s got a very interesting job that’s way too high level for me to understand.
Andy I had a crab bisque, dover sole with capers, and a quince tart.
Matt We shared the very smallest tin of caviar. I had a starter of king prawns, then a half lobster and chips, and some kind of sponge cake.
The big beef
Andy We’re both into gaming. He believed in stronger state regulation, and peripheral things around that. I have a more liberal approach, and think there should be more personal responsibility around gaming addiction and in-app purchasing. Matt was quite candid; for him, gaming at one time was almost a retreat from the negative aspects of his life. For me, it’s always been a positive escape: you appreciate the cerebral or artistic merits, as you would a book or a film.
Matt I had a very bad experience in my teens, which led to me retreating from the world. It sounded as if he’d never had any reason for games to become anything more than a nice thing to do. Overall, my perspective is a bit more cynical. Part of the reason games are so fun to play is that they have ways to keep you hooked.
Andy I believe it’s a problem, but I don’t think it affects that many people. It isn’t as bad as gambling, which is a really short-term and high-risk investment. Gaming is like a retail service: you buy things to improve the aesthetic; you’re getting something in return.
Matt I think there’s increasingly a crossover with more straightforward forms of gambling. I reckon that a lot of companies hire statisticians to work out how to nickel and dime you with microtransactions, much like with casinos, so that you feel like you’ve got agency when you’re being slowly drawn into the web. But he did give me some pause for thought about whether my position might be a bit too extreme because of my own experiences.
Sharing plate
Matt We talked about the exploding pagers in Lebanon. His initial reaction was, “Wow, that was some James Bond-level stuff – how did anyone do this? This is impressive.” While I had that thought initially, I’ve seen videos of them blowing up in public spaces and children killed. It was a completely reckless thing to do. I was a bit disturbed by the neutral way it’s been reported in the western media.
Andy He knew some of the details about how they managed to intercept a shipment of pagers and lay the explosives, which seemed like an impossible task to me. But innocent people getting caught in the crossfire was obviously problematic. I think our perspectives are pretty much the same – whichever side of a conflict you’re on, if civilians are killed, it’s tragic.
For afters
Matt We talked about the recent donations situation and the £2,000 of glasses provided to Keir Starmer. When it comes to donations and extra-parliamentary earnings, the starting point should be looking at the whole picture, not drilling down on one person.
Andy Certain sections of the media will want to portray all politicians as the same, but the previous government did some pretty bad things around not just expenses but also squandering public money. Dodgy PPE contracts cost billions of pounds, and £2,000 on glasses seems pretty trivial.
Takeaways
Andy He seemed like someone who could be a friend, really. I felt like we were aligned on most things.
Matt He invited me to join him and his friends playing an online game. So we’re going to do that.
Additional reporting: Kitty Drake
• Andy and Matt ate at The Oyster Club in Birmingham.
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