Robin, 68, Essex <\/p>\n
Occupation Solicitor<\/p>\n
Voting record As leader of the English Democrats<\/a> \u2013 an anti-immigration party that wants an English parliament \u2013 Robin votes for himself. Never successfully<\/p>\n Amuse bouche Every year Robin and his wife do a cycle tour of the Netherlands. \u201cThere are separate cyclist lanes everywhere and it\u2019s not hilly\u201d<\/p>\n Aslak, 55, London <\/p>\n Occupation Software engineer and\u00a0entrepreneur<\/p>\n Voting record He has lived in the UK since 2010 but, as a Norwegian national, hasn\u2019t been able to vote here. He votes Labour in Norway<\/p>\n Amuse bouche Runs an art gallery that will shortly unveil a controversial work featuring a Norwegian royal<\/p>\n For starters<\/p>\n Robin I thought I\u2019d be put with a full-on social justice warrior, but he wasn\u2019t like that. I told him my father was in the army, I was born in Malaya, then sent off to boarding school when I\u00a0was eight.<\/p>\n Aslak He was dressed nicely, shirt and blazer. Almost a stereotypically British chap. We talked a bit about the Vikings because everyone loves to talk about the Vikings when they meet a Scandinavian. He didn\u2019t seem that interested in me or my opinions.<\/p>\n Robin I had a prawn starter, he had calamari, we shared a bottle of rioja. Apparently, they do karaoke there \u2013\u00a0not\u00a0on this occasion, thankfully.<\/p>\n Aslak If there had been karaoke, I\u00a0would have done Seven Nation Army. I\u2019ve sung in several bands. For main we both had lamb chops, so that\u2019s one\u00a0thing we agreed on \u2026<\/p>\n The big beef<\/p>\n Robin We shouldn\u2019t be involved in Ukraine. We need to focus on our own interests and not get involved in foreign adventures.<\/p>\n Aslak Whether we like it or not, we live\u00a0in a globalised world, with international trade, migration, alliances. You can\u2019t isolate yourself. If\u00a0there\u2019s a war somewhere in Europe, it affects everybody. My worry is if Russia takes Ukraine, or a part of it, they won\u2019t stop. Then there\u2019ll be much more to pay \u2013 in money and lives \u2013 than from giving some support now.<\/p>\n Robin When the Soviet Union was dissolved there were promises that Nato wouldn\u2019t expand to the east, promises that have been completely ignored. Most of Ukraine has been part of Russia since Catherine the Great. So\u00a0from a historical point of view, you\u00a0can\u00a0see Putin\u2019s argument.<\/p>\n Aslak Even if that was true, it isn\u2019t today. A lot has happened in the meantime. Robin was happy for us to arm Ukraine, provided we charge for it. But he also said we should be willing to arm Russia at the same time, like a win-win situation. That sounds more like a business model than foreign policy.<\/p>\n Sharing plate<\/p>\n Robin We agreed people should be able to talk about things rationally. Once you think of another human being as an enemy, you\u2019re not far off the next stage, which is that violence against them is acceptable.<\/p>\n Aslak We agreed a bit on surveillance. I\u2019m against the government collecting\u00a0information on citizens without any\u00a0suspicions. It creates a\u00a0scary power balance and causes people to self-censor, which is bad for\u00a0democracy.<\/p>\n For afters<\/p>\n Robin The English Democrats campaigned for Brexit, and were obviously very pleased with the result. For a long time we have thought the British state, and its commitment to internationalist entities such as the EU, was against our interests. It hasn\u2019t been a disaster economically; trade has continued to grow.<\/p>\n Aslak The biggest problem has been alienating your biggest trading partners. And students aren\u2019t coming to Britain to study any more because they don\u2019t know if they can stay. And it\u2019s now no longer people from Europe coming, but from all over the world. I\u00a0don\u2019t see how this aligns with what a\u00a0lot of Brexiters wanted.<\/p>\n Takeaways<\/p>\n Robin Aslak is a proper lefty, but he\u2019s a\u00a0proper lefty of the type I used to encounter years ago: rational about it, whereas one of the things we get with the culture wars is wild irrationality. We both said we\u2019d enjoyed it.<\/p>\n Aslak We disagreed about most things, but it was friendly and respectful. Every rightwing person should have a\u00a0woke friend and vice versa. Not that I\u2019m woke \u2026 Well, maybe a bit.<\/p>\n Additional reporting: Kitty Drake<\/p>\n Aslak and Robin ate at Zebrano<\/a> in Brentwood, Essex.<\/p>\n