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5 months ago
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Iain Dale has accused critics of 'revelling in my disappointment and self-humiliation' after he pulled out of the race to become the new MP for Tunbridge Wells amid a backlash to previous comments he made about the Kent town.
Mr Dale dropped his bid to become the town's Conservative candidate in the upcoming general election less than three days after announcing he was quitting the LBC radio station.
Following his pitch to voters on his show on Tuesday, the Lib Dems reported previous comments made by Mr Dale on a podcast in which he admitted he had 'never liked' the Kent town to the local Conservative association.
During the 2022 episode of his podcast For The Many, Mr Dale said: 'I have lived in Tunbridge Wells since 1997, slightly against my will. I've never liked the place. Still don't, and would happily live somewhere else.'
After being forced to withdraw, Mr Dale tweeted today: 'Huge thanks to the hundreds of you who have been in touch over the last few days. As you can imagine, it's been a brutal 48 hours or so and there were some very dark moments. But I'm through it now and your words of encouragement helped greatly.
Iain Dale has accused critics of 'revelling in my disappointment and self-humiliation'
In a lengthy post on X/Twitter, he thanked his supporters who helped him through a 'brutal 48 hours'
'Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. And to those who have revelled in my disappointment and self-humiliation, I suggest your words say far more about you than they do about me.
'I am now going to take a few days to reflect on what the future may hold and won't be on here much. I hope you all have a great weekend. Iain x.'
The radio presenter had said farewell to LBC after 14 years as he announced his plan on Tuesday evening - but he withdrew from the candidate selection process just days later.
Announcing his decision to long-term colleague Nick Ferrari on LBC on Friday, Mr Dale said: 'I instantly recognised the problems with that.
'There is a context to it but nobody's interested in context or nuance in these situations, you just have that little clip and that would be on every single Lib Dem leaflet that was put out in the election campaign.'
He added that he 'wasn't willing to suffer death by a thousand cuts' and risk further comments arising before nominations close next week.
'I think I've recognised the political reality and I don't want to do anything that would damage whoever is chosen,' he said.
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.
Iain Dale announced his decision to long-term colleague Nick Ferrari on LBC on Friday
'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.'
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