Rebecca, 48, Bristol
Occupation Marketing assistant
Voting record Conservative in general elections, Labour in local elections
Amuse bouche Rebecca paints, mainly landscapes, when she has the headspace
Karle, 55, Bristol
Occupation Architect
Voting record Always Labour
Amuse bouche Karle goes birding and sometimes twitching (when you’d go to the other side of the country looking for a golden oriole)
For starters
Karle We shared some tapas, which included cuttlefish something or other, some beef thing. It was all very nice, I have to say. I had a glass of dry white wine; she had a soft drink.
Rebecca There was something scallopy, and something else to do with burnt leeks, which were absolutely lovely.
Karle I went there thinking she was a Ukip supporter. And she wasn’t the person I imagined. She was absolutely lovely.
Rebecca Tall, considerate. I commented on his Vivienne Westwood shirt. I like a bit of Vivienne Westwood.
The big beef
Karle I work at a large architectural practice. We’ve got offices in Huddersfield and do a lot of work up north. The levelling up fund, which is a government fund, means that councils have to apply and compete against each other for services that they would normally have just provided. It’s very competitive, which seems wrong to me. A lot of councils lose out. I don’t think it’s working, and I don’t think it’s morally correct.
Rebecca I live in Bristol, but I’m from Huddersfield. There wasn’t exactly an argument, because we both agreed that the whole term “levelling up” was a marketing spin and it wasn’t happening. When I heard about it in the news, however many years ago, I wanted to think that levelling up would happen. But I’m very sceptical. When I go back up, I see pockets of affluence but, generally, things feel a bit poorer, a bit more desperate with the cost of living crisis. You can just tell on people’s faces that life is that much harder than six months earlier. So I see it from the human point of view. Whereas Karle is in architecture and he saw it from an investment point of view, and the projects that didn’t get to go ahead.
Karle I acknowledged that there clearly is a north-south divide on GDP and other issues – in particular, on health and education, there’s a large disparity. The government should focus on that, not getting councils to compete for leisure centres.
Sharing plate
Rebecca I said to him: “What exactly would you say ‘woke’ is?” He said it’s just being kind and considerate and seeing things from other people’s point of view. I said: “I think I’m woke then, and I didn’t even realise.” I think I misunderstood what woke was, and saw it as a negative thing.
Karle I said: “I’ve spoken to you for a couple of hours now, and I think you’re nice. I think you are woke.” And she said: “I think I am.” I don’t know that that means I changed her.
Rebecca We were both interested in design. I said that I collected mid-century furniture and it just so happens that he collects mid-century chairs, which was very specific.
Karle You know, most of my chairs are old, and by old, I mean, lived in. I like the history of a well-designed chair.
For afters
Karle I brought up Brexit, and she said: “To be honest, since the vote, I haven’t really been watching that closely.” I said: “Well, it hasn’t worked for farmers, it hasn’t worked for fishers, and more importantly, it has caused a division between people who voted for and against. Which has been horrible.”
Rebecca I voted for Brexit. Oh gosh, do you know what, so much has happened since, I can’t even remember why.
Takeaways
Rebecca He’s worked hard to get where he is, and absolutely fair play to him. I did suggest it would be great if he could think about giving opportunities to young people in deprived areas of Bristol. Even if it was just a week’s work experience.
Karle She was recommending things our business could do here. We already do a hell of a lot. And she presumed, I think, that we wouldn’t. So I said: “We do that a lot.” And she advised me again, that I could do it.
Additional reporting: Kitty Drake
• Karle and Rebecca ate at Cor in Bristol
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