Iain Dale has announced that he has abandoned his plans to become the Conservative candidate for Tunbridge Wells.
Appearing on air with Nick Ferrari on LBC, 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.
In it, he said: “I’ve lived in Tunbridge Wells since 1997, slightly against my will, in that my partner comes from Tunbridge Wells…
“I’ve never liked the place, um, still don’t and would happily live somewhere else.”
Today, Dale said he “instantly recognised” the problems posed by the comments made in the podcast as he withdrew from the contest.
Asked by Nick why he would not “tough it out,” he added: “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.”