Iain Dale quits bid to run for Tories over Tunbridge Wells comments

Dale said the comments were part of banter between him and his co-presenter on a podcast two years ago. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

The radio presenter Iain Dale has withdrawn his bid to be the Conservative candidate for Tunbridge Wells after he was found to have said he did not like the town.

Dale, a longstanding Tory supporter, had resigned from his job on LBC to stand as a candidate in the Kent seat but said he was “not willing to suffer death by 1,000 cuts” over his comments.