LBC's Iain Dale has announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the general election. The radio presenter said goodbye to listeners on Tuesday (May 28).
He said: “Now I'm putting my hat back in the ring… Whatever the outcome, I can play a role in restoring trust and honesty in politics. I would be fooling myself forever if I wouldn't try.”
It has not yet been confirmed which party banner Dale wants to stand under and whether he will enter the ring as an independent.
He previously stood in front of the Tories and was defeated into second place in North Norfolk by Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb at the 2005 general election.
In that vote, Dale received 20,909 votes with a 35.5 percent share of the vote, compared to Lamb's 31,515 votes and 53.4 percent of the vote.
Dale also served as Chief of Staff to David Davis in the 2005 Conservative Party leadership campaign, which saw Lord David Cameron elected party leader.
The political commentator had also previously signed up to be the Conservative candidate for the safe seat of Maidstone and The Weald and stood as a candidate for the Conservative safe seat of Bracknell.
In an opinion piece published in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Dale Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer's preoccupation with approaching the general election as the most security-oriented politician would ultimately bore voters.
He wrote: 'It's all very well to be cautious, but you can't go through an entire campaign, say nothing and expect to be rewarded for it.
“Safety first will be attractive, but if your campaign slogan is 'Change' then you need to be able to explain what you want to change and how you are going to achieve it.”
Dale told his listeners on Tuesday: “You know how much politics means to me. And if you've been listening for any time, you know that I've always had two ambitions in life. One was to become a radio presenter and the other was to be a Member of Parliament.
“The last time I tried the electorate fought back, but now I'm putting my hat in the ring again to be a candidate in the general election.
“Whatever the outcome of these elections, I feel I can play a role in restoring trust and fairness in politics. There are no guarantees that I will be selected, let alone chosen, but I know I would be kicking myself forever if I didn't. at least go there sometime.”
He added that even if listeners didn't share his political views, he at least hoped his decision was something they could respect.
Dale joined LBC in 2010 and went on to present four LBC General Election Night shows, two US presidential election shows, Scottish and Brexit night shows during the referendum and the channel's evening show.
Broadcasting rules in Britain mean that candidates for the general election are not allowed to present radio programmes.