Don, 74, Farnham<\/p>\n
Occupation Retired IT project manager<\/p>\n
Voting record Always Conservative, but recently decided no party had a leader of any vision or represented his views. Now describes himself as \u201capolitical\u201d<\/p>\n
Amuse bouche He has actually kissed Ireland\u2019s Blarney Stone. \u201cYou have to be turned almost upside down to do so\u201d<\/p>\n
David, 56, Weybridge<\/p>\n
Occupation Biologist<\/p>\n
Voting record The Democratic Alliance in South Africa<\/a>, where he\u2019s from. Green in local elections in the UK, where he\u2019s lived since 2020. Identifies as \u201cfar left\u201d<\/p>\n Amuse bouche Spent three months in the bush in Botswana studying elephants, and eight months in the jungle in Sumatra studying orangutans<\/p>\n For starters<\/p>\n David I took the train and cycled to Farnham. The pub was lovely. I had prawn arancini, then a very nicely done duck breast. Don\u2019s a lovely guy, very personable.<\/p>\n Don I just had some nibbles to start, then a mushroom bourguignon pie. David\u2019s a very engaging person. He has made his own wine \u2013 way ahead of me on that score \u2013 so he chose a very nice bottle of South African red.<\/p>\n The big beef<\/p>\n David The climate crisis is an existential threat that\u2019s already affecting the people least able to cope. Our priorities seem to be: maximise what we can get out of the planet, then hope for some magical techno-fix, and that\u2019s not going to happen. We\u2019ve blown through the 1.5C target<\/a>; it\u2019s not official yet, but let\u2019s see what this year\u2019s El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> does. Models say we\u2019re going to overshoot dramatically.<\/p>\n Don I understand the problem is real; I\u2019m not a climate denier. But I have trouble trying to gather together the fractured elements of what we need to do. We\u2019re in the economic doghouse, people are more concerned with putting food on the table, a roof over their heads. It\u2019s reported that the four biggest polluters in the world are producing about 60% of CO2 emissions. Bringing it back to the UK, why should we be putting ourselves in greater danger to reach net zero by 2050? What if we went for 2060?<\/p>\n David On net zero, we\u2019re not going fast enough. The economic and political models for adaptation are built on an incrementalist approach \u2013 each 0.1C will lead to such and such. That\u2019s a\u00a0false premise: if you look at ecosystems, it\u2019s incremental up to a\u00a0point, then you get collapse. We need to stop fossil fuel extraction as soon as possible, electrify, cut down on global travel. We need to act as if it is a crisis.<\/p>\n Don I\u2019m 74, I\u2019ve worked, done all the things I was able or wanted to do. That\u2019s not to say I don\u2019t care, but I\u2019m probably more focused on what songs I\u00a0want played at my funeral than what\u2019s going to happen by 2050. My son\u2019s views are very different. Of course, I\u00a0want him to have a happy, prosperous life, but they\u2019ve got to take up the cudgels to create the world they want.<\/p>\n Sharing plate<\/p>\n David We agreed we\u2019re going through a period of substantial change and the political system is coming apart. Also that the current political parties aren\u2019t offering clear, coherent leadership.<\/p>\n Don Unless you have some strong-minded people to make all kinds of changes that lots of people aren\u2019t going to like, we\u2019re going to continue in the slough of despondency.<\/p>\n For afters<\/p>\n David Don mentioned he\u2019d travelled to South Africa and loved it. One of the things he was positive about was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission<\/a>. I\u2019m a big supporter, but while I think it brought closure, it also allowed people to get away with murder, literally.<\/p>\n Don David was there, of course; I was just reading news reports. But I thought, what a good idea: get these things on the table, get people to confess, to say how they suffered \u2013 and\u00a0then try to move forward.<\/p>\n David My worry is about there being no consequence for malfeasance, and a lack of accountability. I\u2019m of the opinion there\u2019s no statute of limitations on things like that and people should face the consequences.<\/p>\n Takeaways<\/p>\n David We\u2019ve come to different conclusions, but I think he\u2019s been let down by the media. The polarisation of the media has poisoned the discourse.<\/p>\n Don I look at the Telegraph, Times, Mail, Guardian, New Statesman, Economist \u2013 left and right. David\u2019s an affable guy, with one of those really nice, soft South African accents. He\u2019s very easy to listen to. But we didn\u2019t exchange contact details.<\/p>\n Additional reporting: Kitty Drake<\/p>\n David and Don ate at The Castle<\/a> in Farnham, Surrey<\/p>\n