Dining across the divide: He was not a Nigel Farage-type Brexit person, so that was nice – The Guardian

Danny, 56, Pontypool

Occupation Prison, drug and alcohol caseworker

Voting record Previously Labour; hasnt voted in recent years

Amuse bouche Danny was homeless as a teenager

Occupation Has recently left her job in an opticians after 20 years because of caring responsibilities

Voting record Labour, all the way

Amuse bouche Jolene has recently discovered that she is autistic and has ADHD

Danny I hadnt thought about what Jolene might be like, just that as long as we were both nice, it should be OK.

Jolene As soon as he walked in, I felt comfortable. I was expecting some snotty-nosed Tory racist person. I love people, so I still would have been interested.

Danny Im vegan. The starter had loads of different peas in it. That was stunning.

Jolene I was quite nervous. The waiter said, Ill get you a gin and tonic and I thought, How did you know thats what I needed?

Jolene He was not a Nigel Farage-type Brexit person, so that was nice. He talked about the old Labour arguments against the EU, from years ago. I still cant completely understand his reasons. I said: Tell me a tangible benefit to Brexit I never got one.

Danny I voted out on a Bob Crow vibe the late trade union leader. Its not about vilifying people who are coming over, trying to better themselves. Its about freedom of movement driving down wages. The systems been set up so were fighting against each other. People should be angry about the distribution of wealth.

Jolene My partners a truck driver, so when there was a massive labour shortage, his money went up. But it was never low because of foreign workers that was about the government allowing people to be paid crap wages. Then their answer was, Well let lorry drivers work more hours but he already worked crazy hours.

Danny I dont think Brexit is going very well, but thats because of the government weve got at the moment. And the beauty is, we can vote them out. In the EU, we werent able to vote those people out.

Jolene But it feels impossible to get rid of the Tories, and I cant see how well get back the money weve wasted.

Danny We spoke about the Labour party and how much we both liked Corbyn, how the country missed a trick in not electing him.

Jolene We could see the qualities in him, and why he brought so many young people into the party, which was great. I was still a Labour member in 2020, so I did vote for Keir Starmer for leader. I believed in his promise to unite the party. But hes done the opposite of that: hes waging a war on the left. So I do regret that.

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Danny Corbyn seemed a bit meek. The establishment and the corporations needed someone stronger to take them on.

Jolene Im not completely against the Labour party now. I love Angela Rayner. Shes such a strong woman.

Jolene We talked about neurodiversity, how hard it was to get diagnosed with ADHD and autism, and how, once its been missed, you go through trauma after trauma. That was a really interesting conversation, because of the work he does with prisoners and addiction. Something like 25% of the prison population has ADHD.

Danny Ive seen this in the Prison Service and the army theres a lot of ex-servicemen in prison. When I was in the army, there were certain things I couldnt do, couldnt fathom. Then I really struggled when I came out of it. My marriage split up, I couldnt get a grip for a while. To be fair, prisons are pretty good with autism now. In the old days, youd have just been labelled a nuisance or a pain in the arse.

Jolene Im rediscovering myself since Ive been diagnosed. The things Ive struggled with, the ups and downs, the sensory things I have so much more compassion for myself now. Its liberating.

Danny I did say to Jolene, lets not fall out about anything. Its just my opinions, Im not saying its true. And she was lovely, really nice.

Jolene Generally I feel as if I made a friend. I hope I didnt talk too much.

Additional reporting: Naomi Larsson

Danny and Jolene ate at Gem 42 in Newport

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Dining across the divide: He was not a Nigel Farage-type Brexit person, so that was nice - The Guardian