Dining across the divide: Andy and Steve on Starmer and U-turns

Andy, 38, from Honiton, and Steve, 70, from Sidbury met for a meal at The Botanist in Exeter. Andy works in charity fundraising, runs a small film-recommendation app and is a Labour member who sometimes votes Lib Dem. Steve is retired, a lifelong Labour voter who has voted tactically, and still plays in his local cricket league.

Their main disagreement centred on political U-turns and the Labour leadership. Andy argued that constant reversals make a leader look weak and described Sir Keir Starmer as an uninspiring, functionary figure; Steve accepted that leaders change their minds but said frequent changes are preferable to chopping and changing leaders and that some criticisms of Starmer felt trivial.

They also discussed the tone of public life and practical issues. Steve said politics has grown more aggressive and called for small, frequent public-transport options to curb car use; Andy said he would like to cycle more but that serious investment in transport is needed before that is realistic.

keir starmer, labour, u-turns, public transport, transport investment, cycling, exeter, honiton, sidbury, tactical voting