Iain Dale
Encyclopedia
Iain Campbell Dale is best known for his conservative
-minded British
political blog
Iain Dale's Diary (founded in 2002) and for his frequent appearances on UK news channels as a political commentator. He is also a publisher, broadcaster and former Conservative Party
politician. In September 2003 he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to contest a Parliamentary election. He is the publisher of Total Politics
magazine and Managing Director of Biteback Publishing. Since September 2010, he has hosted a regular evening show on London's LBC Radio channel.
County Primary School, Saffron Walden County High School
, and obtained a 2(i) BA Honours degree in German, Linguistics, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the University of East Anglia
in 1985. Prior to going to university he spent his gap year as a nursing assistant at the Werner Wicker Klinik in West Germany
. During his degree course he spent a year teaching English at the Gymnasium Besigheim
.
He was Research Assistant
to the Conservative MP
Patrick Thompson
, 1985–87, Public Affairs Manager for the British Ports Federation 1987–89, Financial Journalist with Lloyd's List
1989–90, and then Deputy Managing Director of The Waterfront Partnership & Managing Director of The Waterfront Conference Company 1990–96.
In 1997, he opened Politico's Bookstore and Coffee House in Westminster
, selling a mix of political books, memorabilia and novelty items. The shop spawned sister publishing and web design businesses using the Politico's brand. He founded Politico's Publishing in 1998, and sold it in 2003 to Methuen Publishing. In 2004, Dale announced the closure of the walk-in book shop and relocated the business to Kent as a mail-order operation. Later that year the Westminster premises re-opened as the Westminster Bookshop under the ownership of Methuen. In 2006, Dale sold the Politico's Bookstore business to Harriman House.
, entitled Iain Dale's Diary, had been one of the most widely-read political blogs in the UK. It was nominated by The Guardian for the Political Blog of the Year Award in 2005. On December 14, 2010, Dale announced that he was quitting both blogging at Iain Dale's Diary and party politics. As of Jan 2011 the blog url still operates and contains regular updates on Dale's LBC Radio shows. As of July 2011, Iain Dale has started a collaborative blog site with many contributors from the political spectrum, including himself. He continues to author a blog entitled West Ham Till I Die where he writes on West Ham United
.
Dale's fortnightly comment column for The Daily Telegraph
, which he began writing in February 2007, was discontinued in January 2009. He has also written for The Guardian
, The Independent
, GQ Magazine, The Spectator
and the New Statesman
and has made frequent appearances on TV news and political shows, including Any Questions?
.
Dale is author or editor of over two dozen political books. This includes co-authoring in May 2006 a book with fellow blogger Guido Fawkes (a.k.a. Paul Staines) about alleged instances of sleaze from the Labour Party
since taking office in 1997. A second edition was subsequently released in June 2007.
Dale is also the publisher of Total Politics
magazine. He formerly presented Planet Politics on Oneword
Radio, and occasionally appeared on Sunday Service on Radio 5 Live
. He was also chief presenter on the failed internet TV station 18 Doughty Street
.
Dale was used as a stand in presenter for London radio station LBC 97.3
during the first nine months of 2010 after doing a couple of test programs with other journalists. He co-presented LBC's six hour election night programme on 7 May 2010, with Gaby Hinsliff. In May and June 2010 he presented the Petrie Hosken, Clive Bull
, James Max
and Jeni Barnett
phone in shows, and on 22 June 2010 fronted LBC's budget coverage. In late July 2010 Dale started a six week stint on LBC covering for Petrie Hosken and Andrew Pierce, which later turned into a regular show.
as Conservative
candidate for Norfolk North
, losing to the Liberal Democrat incumbent, Norman Lamb
; Lamb was elected with a 10,000 plus majority as opposed to 483 at the previous election, which he fought against David Prior
. Subsequently Dale acted as chief of staff to the losing leadership candidate David Davis
in the run-up to the 2005 Conservative Party leadership campaign
. In August 2006, it was confirmed that he had been added to the Conservative 'Priority List' of candidates to fight the next general election. However his ambitions were further frustrated in 2007 when he applied for the Conservative candidacy for the safe seat
Maidstone and The Weald, but failed to get past the first interview stage.
In October 2009 he ran for selection for the Conservative safe seat
of Bracknell
in order to succeed Andrew MacKay, who stepped down at the 2010 general election. Dale came third in the run off ballot behind Rory Stewart
and the eventual winner Dr Philip Lee
.
On 17 June 2010 Dale announced on his blog that he was resigning from the Conservative Party candidates list and would not be standing at any forthcoming parliamentary election
Dale was known for provocative statements on Iain Dale's Diary. The rescue of the Chilean miners
he has referred to as a "bore-a-thon"; and he compared Greenpeace
protesters with Al-Qaeda
terrorists. On May 25 2010, he announced that he had phoned the University of East London
asking for comment about a protestor called "Mike" who had taken part in the "Democracy Village" protest at Parliament Square
; according to Dale, who had used the whois
service to establish that "Mike" was a Systems Manager at the University, "... perhaps "Mike" might like to drop by again and explain his absence from his public sector workplace. His Democracy Village website indicates that he is taking part in a peace strike. Surely he doesn't expect this to wash with his employer?..".
On 22 August 2011, Dale posted on his Twitter
account a series of comments criticizing the BBC
, and an unnamed individual BBC reporter, for what he perceived as unnecessarily cautious television reporting during the 2011 Battle of Tripoli. 6 minutes later he posted an apology: "OK, that tweet about the BBC reporter was unfair and in bad taste. I withdraw it." Subsequently, he indicated that he would be "taking up the suggestion of making a donation to the Rory Peck Trust", a charitable trust
and an award named after Rory Peck
which supports cameramen injured in the line of duty.
. They have been together since 1995. Dale has been openly homosexual since he was 40.
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
-minded British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
political blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Iain Dale's Diary (founded in 2002) and for his frequent appearances on UK news channels as a political commentator. He is also a publisher, broadcaster and former Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. In September 2003 he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to contest a Parliamentary election. He is the publisher of Total Politics
Total Politics
Total Politics is a British political magazine described as a "a lifestyle magazine for the political community". It was first published in June 2008 and is distributed freely to all MPs, MEPs, peers, political journalists, members of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies, and all...
magazine and Managing Director of Biteback Publishing. Since September 2010, he has hosted a regular evening show on London's LBC Radio channel.
Education and career
Dale was educated at AshdonAshdon
Ashdon is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about northeast of Saffron Walden and is northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden...
County Primary School, Saffron Walden County High School
Saffron Walden County High School
Saffron Walden County High School is a coeducational comprehensive school for ages 11–18 in Saffron Walden, Essex, England. The headmaster is John Hartley....
, and obtained a 2(i) BA Honours degree in German, Linguistics, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
in 1985. Prior to going to university he spent his gap year as a nursing assistant at the Werner Wicker Klinik in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. During his degree course he spent a year teaching English at the Gymnasium Besigheim
Besigheim
Besigheim is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.It is situated 13 km north of Ludwigsburg at the confluence of the Neckar and Enz rivers. The town has many old buildings and a town hall that dates back to 1459...
.
He was Research Assistant
Research assistant
A research assistant is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university or a research institute, for the purpose of assisting in academic research...
to the Conservative MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Patrick Thompson
Patrick Thompson
Hugh Patrick Thompson, known as Patrick Thompson, is a British Conservative Party politician. Educated at Felsted School and Cambridge University...
, 1985–87, Public Affairs Manager for the British Ports Federation 1987–89, Financial Journalist with Lloyd's List
Lloyd's List
Lloyd's List is one of the world's oldest continuously-running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. Now published daily, a recent issue was numbered 59,200...
1989–90, and then Deputy Managing Director of The Waterfront Partnership & Managing Director of The Waterfront Conference Company 1990–96.
In 1997, he opened Politico's Bookstore and Coffee House in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, selling a mix of political books, memorabilia and novelty items. The shop spawned sister publishing and web design businesses using the Politico's brand. He founded Politico's Publishing in 1998, and sold it in 2003 to Methuen Publishing. In 2004, Dale announced the closure of the walk-in book shop and relocated the business to Kent as a mail-order operation. Later that year the Westminster premises re-opened as the Westminster Bookshop under the ownership of Methuen. In 2006, Dale sold the Politico's Bookstore business to Harriman House.
Media work
Dale's blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, entitled Iain Dale's Diary, had been one of the most widely-read political blogs in the UK. It was nominated by The Guardian for the Political Blog of the Year Award in 2005. On December 14, 2010, Dale announced that he was quitting both blogging at Iain Dale's Diary and party politics. As of Jan 2011 the blog url still operates and contains regular updates on Dale's LBC Radio shows. As of July 2011, Iain Dale has started a collaborative blog site with many contributors from the political spectrum, including himself. He continues to author a blog entitled West Ham Till I Die where he writes on West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
.
Dale's fortnightly comment column for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, which he began writing in February 2007, was discontinued in January 2009. He has also written for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, GQ Magazine, The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
and the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
and has made frequent appearances on TV news and political shows, including Any Questions?
Any Questions?
Any Questions? is a topical debate radio programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:It is broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on Friday evenings and repeated on Saturday afternoons, when it is followed by a phone-in response programme, Any Answers?, previously a postal response slot...
.
Dale is author or editor of over two dozen political books. This includes co-authoring in May 2006 a book with fellow blogger Guido Fawkes (a.k.a. Paul Staines) about alleged instances of sleaze from the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
since taking office in 1997. A second edition was subsequently released in June 2007.
Dale is also the publisher of Total Politics
Total Politics
Total Politics is a British political magazine described as a "a lifestyle magazine for the political community". It was first published in June 2008 and is distributed freely to all MPs, MEPs, peers, political journalists, members of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies, and all...
magazine. He formerly presented Planet Politics on Oneword
Oneword
Oneword Radio was a British commercial digital radio station featuring books, drama, comedy, children's programming, and discussion. The station was available in the UK via digital radio and digital television and was streamed on the internet 24 hours a day worldwide...
Radio, and occasionally appeared on Sunday Service on Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
. He was also chief presenter on the failed internet TV station 18 Doughty Street
18 Doughty Street
18 Doughty Street was a British political internet-based broadcaster that hosted a webcast as its chief product. It began broadcasting at 18:55 on 10 October 2006, from its studio at 18 Doughty Street in the Bloomsbury area of London, and ceased broadcasting at 23:00 on Thursday 8 November 2007...
.
Dale was used as a stand in presenter for London radio station LBC 97.3
LBC 97.3
LBC 97.3 is a London-based talk and phone-in radio station. It is one half of the latest incarnation of LBC, the news and speech service which was Britain's first commercial radio station when it went on air in October 1973...
during the first nine months of 2010 after doing a couple of test programs with other journalists. He co-presented LBC's six hour election night programme on 7 May 2010, with Gaby Hinsliff. In May and June 2010 he presented the Petrie Hosken, Clive Bull
Clive Bull
Bull Clive is an award-winning radio talk show host, best known for presenting a late-night show on LBC 97.3 in London, England.-Background:...
, James Max
James Max
James Max is a journalist and radio presenter specialising in business issues. He currently presents programmes for London speech radio station LBC 97.3. He was a semi-finalist on the first series of the British version of The Apprentice television programme.- Pre-Apprentice :Born in London in May...
and Jeni Barnett
Jeni Barnett
Jeni Barnett is an English actress and TV presenter who grew up in Borehamwood. She is married to Yorkshire-born actor Jim Bywater and has one daughter, Bethany.-Acting career:...
phone in shows, and on 22 June 2010 fronted LBC's budget coverage. In late July 2010 Dale started a six week stint on LBC covering for Petrie Hosken and Andrew Pierce, which later turned into a regular show.
Political career
In May 2005, Dale stood in the general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
as Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for Norfolk North
North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)
North Norfolk is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, losing to the Liberal Democrat incumbent, Norman Lamb
Norman Lamb
Norman Peter Lamb is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and Chief Parliamentary and Political Adviser and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.He is the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk....
; Lamb was elected with a 10,000 plus majority as opposed to 483 at the previous election, which he fought against David Prior
David Prior (UK politician)
David Gifford Leathes Prior is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He served as Member of Parliament for North Norfolk from 1997 until the 2001 general election, when he lost his seat to Norman Lamb of the Liberal Democrats by 483 votes.-Early life:He went to the...
. Subsequently Dale acted as chief of staff to the losing leadership candidate David Davis
David Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
in the run-up to the 2005 Conservative Party leadership campaign
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2005
The 2005 Conservative leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as leader in the near future. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted,...
. In August 2006, it was confirmed that he had been added to the Conservative 'Priority List' of candidates to fight the next general election. However his ambitions were further frustrated in 2007 when he applied for the Conservative candidacy for the safe seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
Maidstone and The Weald, but failed to get past the first interview stage.
In October 2009 he ran for selection for the Conservative safe seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
of Bracknell
Bracknell (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
in order to succeed Andrew MacKay, who stepped down at the 2010 general election. Dale came third in the run off ballot behind Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart
Roderick 'Rory' James Nugent Stewart OBE FRSL MP DUniv is a British academic, author, and Conservative politician. Since May 2010, he has been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border, in the county of Cumbria, North West England.- Overview :Stewart was a senior coalition official in a...
and the eventual winner Dr Philip Lee
Phillip Lee (politician)
Dr Phillip James Lee is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Bracknell since winning the seat at the 2010 United Kingdom general election.-Early life and career:...
.
On 17 June 2010 Dale announced on his blog that he was resigning from the Conservative Party candidates list and would not be standing at any forthcoming parliamentary election
Dale was known for provocative statements on Iain Dale's Diary. The rescue of the Chilean miners
2010 Copiapó mining accident
The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known as the "Chilean mining accident", began in the afternoon of Thursday, 5 August 2010 as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San José copper–gold mine. The mine is located deep in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and harshest...
he has referred to as a "bore-a-thon"; and he compared Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
protesters with Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
terrorists. On May 25 2010, he announced that he had phoned the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
asking for comment about a protestor called "Mike" who had taken part in the "Democracy Village" protest at Parliament Square
Parliament Square
Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist...
; according to Dale, who had used the whois
WHOIS
WHOIS is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system, but is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores...
service to establish that "Mike" was a Systems Manager at the University, "... perhaps "Mike" might like to drop by again and explain his absence from his public sector workplace. His Democracy Village website indicates that he is taking part in a peace strike. Surely he doesn't expect this to wash with his employer?..".
On 22 August 2011, Dale posted on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account a series of comments criticizing the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and an unnamed individual BBC reporter, for what he perceived as unnecessarily cautious television reporting during the 2011 Battle of Tripoli. 6 minutes later he posted an apology: "OK, that tweet about the BBC reporter was unfair and in bad taste. I withdraw it." Subsequently, he indicated that he would be "taking up the suggestion of making a donation to the Rory Peck Trust", a charitable trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
and an award named after Rory Peck
Rory Peck
Rory Peck was a Northern-Irish freelance war cameraman who was killed while covering the events of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.-Work:...
which supports cameramen injured in the line of duty.
Personal life
Dale entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner John Simmons on 15 June 2008 at Wadhurst Castle in East SussexEast Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. They have been together since 1995. Dale has been openly homosexual since he was 40.