The former LBC presenter’s decision comes after comments emerged of him criticising the town he had hoped to represent in parliament.
On a 2022 episode of his For The Many podcast, Dale said: “I have lived in Tunbridge Wells since 1997, slightly against my will in that my partner comes from Tunbridge Wells and can’t really imagine living anywhere else.
“I’ve never liked the place, still don’t and would happily live somewhere else.”
Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari this morning, Dale said: “I instantly recognised the problem with that. There is a context to it but nobody is very interested in context or nuance in that clip and it would be on every Lib Dem leaflet that was put out in the election campaign.”
Dale stunned listeners to his LBC show on Tuesday evening when he announced he was quitting after 14 years to pursue his dream of becoming a Conservative MP.
He said: “You know how much politics means to me. And if you’ve listened for any length of time, you know I’ve always had two ambitions in life. One was to be a radio presenter and the other was to be an MP.
“Last time I tried, the electorate fought back. But now I am putting my hat in the ring again to be a candidate at the general election. Whatever the result, I feel I can play a role in restoring trust and honesty in politics.
“There are no guarantees I’ll even be selected, let alone elected, but I know that I would forever kick myself if I didn’t at least have a go. Even if you don’t share my politics, I hope at least, that is something you can respect.”