Ian Dale turned down an offer to become a Conservative MP in a town he 'never liked'

Ian Dale abandoned his bid to become the Tory candidate in Tunbridge Wells after footage emerged of him criticizes the city. Photo: Vicky Flores/Getty

Iain Dale has pulled out of the race to stand as the Conservative candidate in Tunbridge Wells in Kent, just two days after announcing he would quits his job as a radio host and runs for parliament.

The LBC presenter said he decided to withdraw from the competition after the Lib Dems unearthed a podcast in which he said he «didn't like living in Tunbridge Wells and would happily live somewhere else» Dale, 61, said the revelation of the podcast two years ago made it impossible for him to pursue his ambitions to become an MP because he would be hit back in every Lib Dem leaflet during any election campaign.< /p>

Speaking on LBC's Nick Ferrari Show on Friday, he said: «I immediately recognised the problem with it. There's context to it, but no-one cares about the context or the nuance of that clip and it's going to be on every Lib Dem leaflet that comes out during the election campaign.»

Earlier this week, Mr Dale announced he would be leaving his job at LBC to try to run for parliament, saying he had two ambitions in life — to be a radio presenter and an MP. It was not his first attempt to become an MP, having unsuccessfully tried for North Norfolk in 2005.

However, he said events «changed a little» on Wednesday morning when: Within 12 hours of his announcement, the Lib Dems alerted the Tory constituency of Tunbridge Wells to the existence of the podcast. 

Can't 'stick it'

Mr Dale said the controversial comments were sparked by a joke between him and Jacqui Smith, the former Labor Home Secretary, when he «kicked the mickey» out of her constituency. from Redditch.

His comments came as Rishi Sunak's proposal to redirect equalization funds to wealthier regions was debated. He said he noticed that although Tunbridge Wells was richer, it had pockets of deprivation and poverty. “It won’t be on the Lib Dem leaflet,” he commented. 

As a result, Mr Dale decided to inform the Conservative Party that he would withdraw from the race to replace Tunbridge Wells, even if they decided to put his name forward as one of the final three for selection interviews. . 

He said he took into account thousands of hours of his shows and hundreds of hours of podcasts when he made the initial decision to run, understanding that previous comments such as his criticism of the prime minister's flagship scheme in Rwanda would be singled out. jumped up and lunged at him.

But he said his comments about Tunbridge Wells were «on another level» which meant he couldn't «take it».

He added: “I could go to the selection meeting tomorrow. I could give a rah-rah speech that would get them all excited: “We're going to beat these Lib Dems, blah, blah, blah,” and I could win.”

“Ah.” what if they got something else out of what I said? This is not the first time this has happened to a radio presenter.»

Mr Dale has worked for LBC since 2010, presenting four general election evening shows and two US presidential elections.