Dining across the divide: ‘She felt our generation shouldn’t be held responsible for the massive imbalance between us and young people’

Sian, 56, Herefordshire

Occupation CEO of a social enterprise

Voting record Would normally vote Labour. Once voted Lib Dem, and then – to her sickening horror – they went into coalition with the Tories. Has voted Green in local elections

Amuse bouche Sings in a natural voice choir on the Welsh borders – Māori songs, Corsican folk songs, a lot of traditional music from the British Isles

Pam, 62, Hereford

Occupation Retired social worker

Voting record Is still on the fence nationally – there is something she disagrees with in every major party

Amuse bouche Wild swims, although when she was a wee lassie, they just called it swimming

For starters

Sian She was very lovely and bubbly – and a bit nervous, I think.

Pam I thought, what an attractive lady.

Sian I had these little gyoza parcels, spicy cauliflower fritters, and some nice little sweetcorny things. Pam didn’t like spicy food. She barely ate. She seemed jolly, though. We had a few glasses of rosé.

Pam I didn’t like any of it, to be honest. Not for me. Each to their own, though.

The big beef

Sian She said: “Immigrants cost us £80m a day.” I don’t know where she got the stat from. She mentioned the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development, which doesn’t just deal with the UK – it’s a global group. My point was that most immigrants in this country work. They’re of working age, they’re paying taxes, they’re contributing to the economy. And I suggested that should be factored into the equation.

Pam The whole world’s a melting pot, and that’s how we need to go, otherwise the gene pool gets very limited and then you’re in trouble. But it’s costing us a ridiculous amount to absorb migrants. People will migrate, and if it’s economic migration, that can only be a good thing. They bring in skills, knowledge, expertise that perhaps we’re lacking here. We need that mix-up. But how you finance it is the question – left as it is, it’s going to be crippling for the UK economy.

Sian She was very sympathetic to asylum seekers. She said she didn’t mean working migrants. So I wasn’t sure by the end who she really meant.

Pam We need to deal with illegal migrants. It needs to be humane – the Rwanda plan is just ridiculous. Even in my city, we know that there’s an element of property being held for migrants and immigrants, and that affects local people looking for housing.

Sharing plate

Pam I don’t think boomers should pay more tax. How can they? People born in the early 50s, maybe up to the 60s, got the best of the economy. They had low interest rates, cheap housing, free education. That isn’t happening with our younger generation. People talk about intergenerational theft, but that’s an argument for levelling up, not taxing people.

Related: Dining across the divide: ‘There’s a lot of po-faced finger-wagging on the progressive left’

Sian Relatively, on things like housing and welfare, our generation has done really well. We agreed that there was a massive imbalance between us and young people now. Pam has a really massive thing about housing, scurrilous landlords making loads of money and what a screwed-up system it is. But she still felt our generation shouldn’t be held financially responsible for the younger generation.

For afters

Sian We talked about horse racing: she was saying how much she likes the excitement and thrill. I said: “I used to work in a betting shop, and behind all the big hats and thrills and excitement is a very dark world of gambling and poverty creation.” I felt like, by this point, I was making it all a bit less fun.

Pam I like watching horse racing, it’s very exciting. But it can be deadly for the horses, can’t it? Same with pigeons apparently – making them fly 200 miles, that’s cruel to them. But where do you stop? Do you stop fishing?

Takeaways

Pam Apart from the food, we had a really nice time. We exchanged numbers, were both happy to meet if she comes into town.

Sian I thought she was warm, funny and quite open. I envisaged her sat in her deckchair at the river’s edge, reading a book, letting the world go by. She made me think: maybe I should go swimming and sit on the riverbank for a bit and let the sun warm me up. Stop worrying about everything.

Additional reporting: Kitty Drake

• Sian and Pam ate at Bao to the Broth in Hereford.

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