Iain Dale withdraws from bid to be Tory candidate for Tunbridge Wells
31 May 2024, 10:39 | Updated: 31 May 2024, 11:16
Iain Dale announces he will not stand as the Tory candidate for Tunbridge Wells
Broadcaster Iain Dale has announced that he will no longer be putting himself forward to be the Conservative candidate for Tunbridge Wells.
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Appearing on air with Nick Ferrari this morning, Mr Dale said that he will be taking some time 'to reflect' on his decision to put his name in the hat to be selected as a candidate for the seat.
It comes after comments Iain made on an episode of his For The Many podcast in 2022 resurfaced online.
Iain said today he “instantly recognised” the problems posed by the comments made in the podcast.
Asked by Nick why he would not “tough it out,” Iain said: “Several people have said I should be doing that. 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."
He said it was a “difficult” decision to withdraw his name.
“I think I recognise the political reality and I don’t want to do anything that would damage whoever is chosen.”
Iain said he had received many emails and Tweets wishing him good luck in the election.
On his plans for the future, Iain said: “I’ve learnt I should take longer to make an important decision. I think I’ve got to take a little bit of time now… to reflect on that. I’ve made the mistake of making a decision without properly thinking about every possible consequence. It would be a bit silly to do the same again.”
Iain announced on Tuesday that he would step down from LBC to put himself forward to be selected as a candidate in the General Election.
He told listeners: “There are no guarantees I will be selected, let alone elected, but I know that I would forever kick myself if I didn’t at least have a go.”
Iain joined LBC 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, as well as the station’s evening show.
