Iain Dale quits political blog: ‘I hate the character assassination’

Iain Dale, one of the Uk’s leading political bloggers, today revealed he is going to stop writing for his main blog Iain Dale’s Diary.

On his blog today Dale wrote: ‘The truth is, I no longer enjoy blogging and I think that this has been evident for a few months now to my readers. I hate the backbiting that goes along with it. “I hate the character assassination that is permanently present. I no longer enjoy the pressure of feeling I have to churn out four or five pieces every day. I used to enjoy sitting in front of the TV at home in the evenings and writing blog posts at the same time. I can’t do that any longer as I am on the radio every weekday evening. And when I am in the office during the day I have two companies to run. Something has to give”

Dale said he also no longer felt comfortable being candid in blogging as it was having an affect on aspects of his professional life and his health.

Political blogger Guido Fawkes said: ‘..he [Dale] has done more to popularise blogging than any other blogger in Britain. He advanced the cause of blogging ceaselessly when it was far less mainstream than it is now. His annual guide to blogging is the reference book for the political blogosphere”

Dale said he will not give up on blogging altogether:

‘I still want to have an outlet where I can share my thoughts with the world as and when I feel like it. So the blog will still be here. The Daley Dozen [Dales list of each day’s 12 best blogs] will continue, courtesy of Grant Tucker’s efforts. And I will write bits from time to time when I want to, as opposed to when I feel I must. But in practice those occasions will be few and far between for the foreseeable future.”

Dale’s West Ham blog will also continue, though in a more collaborative form.

Dale closed his final blog today stating:

‘I’d like to thank all my readers for sticking with me through good times and bad over the last five years. To the many enemies I have made along the way, I’ll just say in a very Nixon-esque manner, just rejoice in the fact that you won’t have me to kick around any longer. For the moment, anyway. For the most part, I have enjoyed the blogging experience and made a lot of friends through it. Thank you, and Au revoir.”