Iain Dale pulls out of race to face for Tory MP for Tunbridge Wells
Journalist and broadcaster Iain Dale has withdrawn his bid to become the Conservative candidate for Tunbridge Wells in the upcoming general election.
It comes after it emerged this week he once admitted he had ‘never liked’ the Kent town.
It is not the first time Mr Dale has suffered a political mishap: nine years ago, he lost the election when he stood as a Conservative candidate in North Norfolk.
Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari this morning, the presenter for the radio channel said he would be taking time ‘to reflect’ on matters after his comments on an episode of his For The Many podcast in 2022 came to light.
Mr Dale claimed he ‘instantly recognised’ the problem posed by his statement, adding that he could not be sure he hadn’t said ‘something else’ that would be damaging.
When asked why he hadn’t decided to simply ‘tough it out’, he said: ‘Several people have said I should be doing that.
Journalist and broadcaster Iain Dale has withdrawn his bid to become the Conservative candidate for Tunbridge Wells
The radio presenter said farewell to LBC after 14 years as he announced his plan on Tuesday evening
‘I decided on Wednesday evening that I would ask them not to put my name on the shortlist.
‘That was a decision I took. I could have gone to the selection meeting tomorrow. I could have done a ra ra ra speech and I could have won.
‘But what if they’ve got something else that I’ve said. I wasn’t willing to suffer death by a thousand cuts.’
The radio presenter said farewell to LBC after 14 years as he announced his plan on Tuesday evening.
But by Friday he had withdrawn from the candidate selection process after the Liberal Democrats discovered comments on a podcast, when he said he ‘never liked’ the Kent town and ‘I’d quite happily live somewhere else’.
‘I think I’ve recognised the political reality and I don’t want to do anything that would damage whoever is chosen,’ he said today.
On his comments about Tunbridge Wells, the broadcaster and author said part of the reason he got angry on the podcast was because of road works that had been ongoing for three months.
‘If I hated it that much, would I have stayed living there for 27 years? I don’t think I would,’ he said.
‘Everybody listening to this now will have some complaint about where they live. I just put it in far too graphic terms.’
On Tuesday, Mr Dale told LBC listeners there was ‘no guarantees’ he will be selected as a candidate ‘let alone elected’, but ‘I know that I would forever kick myself if I didn’t at least have a go’ ahead of the July 4 election.
On what the future holds as he stood down on Friday, Mr Dale told Ferrari he would reflect on taking time to make important decisions.
He added: ‘I’ve made the mistake of making a decision without probably thinking of every possible consequence, so it would be a bit silly to do the same again.’
Mr Dale took to X, formerly Twitter shortly afterwards and admitted: ‘It’s not been the easiest week! But that’s mdoern day politics, and I knew that when I got into it.’
Speaking after Mr Dale announced he was leaving LBC, Tom Cheal, LBC’s Senior Managing Editor, said: ‘Iain Dale is a world-class broadcaster, and has been hugely important in helping to make LBC the political powerhouse it is today.
‘I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Iain on LBC. We understand his decision and thank him for his massive contribution to the station.’
Mr Dale joined the broadcaster in 2010 and has presented four LBC General Election Night Shows, two American Presidential Election shows, the station’s Scottish and Brexit referendum night shows and the station’s evening show.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
