Goodbye Iain Dale

Iain Dale has decided to stop blogging. His reasons: he has no time for it, and he has stopped enjoying it.

I am a little sad about this, but only a little. Iain's blog was the first political blog I ever read, and I valued it for its interesting viewpoints and non-confrontational tone. Iain sounded like a thoroughly decent guy, and I enjoying reading what he had to say. I have no connection whatever with Westminster, so his scoops and gossip were more in the line of general human interest than political ammunition for me, but I enjoyed them all the same.

And yet, of late, the blog and its tone had changed out of all recognition. In one way, it had become merely a vehicle for his radio presence and publishing venture, and many posts were just advertising puffs (no pun meant) for the show or the business. And there had also been a distinct change of tone: Dale had started to get rather querulous about certain issues concerning MPs' behaviour and seemed to have moved miles away from his original position on honesty and rectitude. His defence of Phil Woolas was indefensible in my opinion. An angry article on the Panorama/World Cup fiasco, and his thoughtless and hostile dismissal of all contrary comments, was the last straw for me, and that made me decide to delete him from my blogroll.

So goodbye, Iain. Thanks for all the entertainment and thought-provoking content over the years, but I think you made the right decision.