Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Time Has Come to Stop Blogging (And Party Politics)

Well, I am afraid this is the blogpost where I tell you that I am giving up blogging. This decision has been coming for some time and was nearly made a month ago, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it then. Well, today I can.

There's no single reason, but let me try to explain as best I can why I can no longer blog in the way I have been doing over the last five years. First of all, let me say what it's NOT about. It's got nothing to do with the Conservatives being in power. There's this myth that blogging in government is less interesting than in opposition. I've never bought that argument. I think I have been quite open in making clear when I think the coalition have got things wrong, but I accept that is not the perception, and probably never will be.

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 blogposts 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.

And if I am honest, I now feel that my blogging is having a negative effect on various aspects of my business and broadcasting life. For instance, yesterday I felt, for various reasons, I had to slightly caveat what I really wanted to say about Tom Baldwin's appointment. Another post in the last few days has caused an unfortunate situation too with a potential advertising client. My blog is indeed a personal plaything, independent of Total Politics or LBC, but the reality is that this is not how many in the outside world see it. And I now need to recognise that.

I'm working 9am to 10pm five days a week. I enjoy it. I relish it. I thrive on it. I'm running a very successful publishing company which is, I believe, on the brink of great success. I've achieved a lifetime's ambition of having my own daily radio talk show. I am not about to put either of those things at risk. And frankly, I'm not going to put my health at risk either. As I said above, something has to give in this life I am now leading, and I am afraid it is the blog.

However - and this is where I row back a little - 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 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.

In the new year I'll be launching a new website which will replace this blog and my current personal site. It's been in the 'building' stage for some time, but should be ready to go during January.

I have also decided to give up all party political activities, as they too have hampered aspects of my business and broadcasting career in the past. I am, and will remain, a Conservative supporter, but that's as far as it goes.

Finally, 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.

PS I shall still be tweeting HERE.

182 comments:

  1. pity thought you might have something to say about Sepp Blatter and Qatar 2022

    http://londonmuslims.blogspot.com/2010/12/sepp-blater-urges-gays-to-refrain-from.html

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  2. Sorry to see you (partly) go, Iain. You've always been at least entertaining if not always right! Good luck with all the new and ongoing endeavours.

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  3. I'm really sorry to read this, I enjoyed reading this blog and have done so for a long time, basically due to its good writing style and savvy political take, not because it was conservative or anything else. I looked in here every day. Actually it hasn't come as a surprise you have been making some noises in this direction for some time, so good luck with the radio etc and all the best.

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  4. Iain,

    Thank you, and good luck. I will miss your blog, but, as you say, you can't do everything.Keep trying to get the work-life balance right though, the amount of time you are away from home is immense...

    Good luck!

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  5. Iain


    'Bye and many thanks. It's been fun, but maybe everyone should make such decisions. Change is the norm, after all.

    Good luck!

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  6. " I am, and will remain, a Conservative supporter, but that's as far as it goes."

    I hope you will, Iain, I really hope you will!! I would hate to think that Mr Jonathan Richards, Programme Controller of LBC97.3 had got to you.....

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  7. Yours was one of the few blogs I looked at nearly every day.

    But there's no real argument to be had when someone just isn't enjoying something. "I don't like it any more" is a pretty much unanswerable reason!

    Good luck for all that follows.

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  8. Iain, I have enjoyed your blog - thank you. Very sorry to see you go, but you can't do everything. Indeed, your work-life balance still seems a bit out of kilter - watch that, no fun for the people you leave behind.

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  9. I'll be sorry to see you go, although your reasons make perfect sense. (Fugitive Ink was retired recently, for broadly similar reasons.)

    One of the best things about your blog was the humanity you generally brought to what can be an incredibly nasty, callous and amoral kind of endeavour - e.g. you weren't willing to dismiss all politicians as villains or rogues even when it was very fashionable to do so - while your knowledge of Westminster brought a note of realism to your writing not always obvious elsewhere.

    Anyway, best of luck with your other outlets - but here in blogland, you'll be missed.

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  10. Bye - :(

    But your reasons are sound. It's a shame, but then, we just get the blogs, not the work that goes with it.

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  11. Goodbye blogger Iain Dale - I've really enjoyed your blog and all the antics of 10DS etc. You've been a great friend of bloggers for many years and have certainly deserved the blogfather tag.

    Thanks for all the fun and encouragement you've brought to so many of us. You'll be missed.

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  12. Terrible news - you will be missed.

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  13. Dear Iain

    All perfectly understandable. It was fun.

    All the best to you & yours and good luck with the businesses and stuff.

    Big time cheers

    DtP

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  14. Hi Iain,
    I think this is a positive step for you so well done! I don't mean that blogging or party politics are not worthy pursuits, but you are now thriving in other areas of publishing/media.
    However, I like to think that you will still have an online space to engage with the public, even if it's not as frenetic as before.
    See you at the Boleyn,
    cheers
    Charlie

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  15. Well, Iain, this is a sad day for me.

    I look forward to reading your blog every day (yes, I did enjoy seeing what you were going to be doing in your day. The only people who ranted about this were jealous and/or trolls.

    Your blog will be missed.

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  16. Hi Iain,
    Don't sound so glum, this is a positive move for you! I am not saying that blogging or party politics are not worthy pursuits but you have even more interesting projects now.
    I hope you will still engage online, however, and I look forward to seeing you in person at the Boleyn,
    cheers
    Charlie

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  17. Really sorry to hear your blogging days are no more.

    As a very regular reader - I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about your many and various interests [bar Cliff ;) ]

    When the fun goes of it - it's time to stop.

    On the upside - I listen to your LBC show every evening over the internet and its good stuff.

    Congrats on making the transition so smoothly and for those who like to stick pins in you - I suspect they've achieved a great deal less.

    Good luck and keep tweeting.

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  18. Very sad to hear this Iain but understand your reasons. You've always had interesting and sensible blogs and encouraged debate.

    Total Politics and Biteback are great achievements and I wish you all the best.

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  19. I know all too well how you feel Iain. But I shall still be sorry to see you go. (Even though there were times when we disagreed.)

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  20. Iain,

    Sorry to see you go, your blog has lost a bit of its intensity of late. First Paul Waugh drops off an RSS feed, now you're throwing in the towel, Tory Bear has left the nursery, what is my blogging world coming to.

    Good luck.

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  21. Well I am not really surprised at your announcement.

    Its clear to me that you could not run 2 companies and an evening radio show and run a full time 'professional' blog. Whilst the blog would make some money the other work clearly is more important.

    I certainly think that has shown ever since you took up the radio work. I feel you have been scratching around for something to say and have had probably too little time to think seriously about it.
    I look forward to the new site - it may still serve as a useful portal onto thee web world.

    Now then - what was it Fu Manchu used to say at the end of all those movies ...?

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  22. Take care then Iain. Although I tended to often disagree with your view, you seldom sank into he gutter (a place we regrettably all stray occasionally), and I wish you well in all your enterprises.

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  23. Thank you for making me a minor footnote in the collapse of the Tory blogosphere ;)

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  24. PS
    london muslim - by 2022 we might all be dead - not least Sepp Blatter.

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  25. Very sorry to see you go Iain, have enjoyed reading your blog a lot over recent years. Your posts have always been very well thought through and you've always managed to give a fresh opinion.

    All the best with your future endeavours!

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  26. I am truly sorry to hear this. I've enjoyed reading your blog more than any other print or new-media writer.

    However, for a while I have felt you have gone a little flat. 20 years ago my brother-in-law said "I work to live: I don't live to work" and I'm glad to you are making that assessment for yourself.

    Very best wishes and don't be a stranger.

    PS Giving your feeling about the back-biting of blogging, it's probably just as well that you didn't get to be an MP. That may have been a happy chance, although it didn't feel like it at the time.

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  27. Mr Dale,

    Your blog has been a beacon of light during the Conservative Party's dark wilderness years (Part III). You have informed, challenged and inspired. You have empathised, struggled and wept in the full glare of the unforgiving blogosphere. That has taken guts, tenacity and conviction. You can be proud of what you have achieved, for in a sense you have negated the Powellite dictum that all political careers end in failure. Yours has not. Of course, some will say that it never began. But they would be wrong. In just a few years of blogging, you have influenced the Party and its policies more than many MPs manage to in their entire lifetimes. They die in obscurity, gathering dust in volumes of Hansard: you move on to other media to make a different kind of music. But we will still listen.

    God Bless,
    ++Cranmer

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  28. I wish you well Iain - doubt that you will lack a platform!

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  29. Change is the norm, and it's been an exceptional few years for your blog; you're the leading light of the true, genuine conservatives, and a welcome counterbalance to the sometimes frothing ConservativeHome.

    It will be strange to see you on BBC News Channel without 'Tory Blogger' in your caption!

    More power to you. You can guest blog on nabidana.com any time!

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  30. I am sorry you are going - I only hope you haven't been put in a position where you have had to make a choice!

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  31. Understandable, but v good while it lasted. Good luck with the rest of it.

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  32. Damn you!! But all the very best!!

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  33. Really, really sorry to see you go, Iain. Like others, I read your blog daily and I am a huge fan of the man as much as the blog. I am delighted your other interests are going so well, however, and wish you all the very best for the future.

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  34. Understandable, but a pity.

    I think this was one of the first political blogs I started reading regularly, and largely because it made a fresh change from the usual hysterical rantings of the more egregious activists who think shouting and ranting is the best way to persuade someone of their argument.

    I worry that we are losing the people who blog without having to work themselves up into a fury first.

    That will be bad for politics in general.

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  35. I'm glad things are going so well for you Iain but of course very sad to see you go. Your blog was the first I ever started reading and has been an essential daily part of my life since then. Tens of thousands of people will miss your daily wisdom. I will have to find somewhere else to get my commentary.

    You have always brought a humane and humourous take on politics in a world where too many people approach it solely with ideological blinkers. I wish you the very best with your work and hope to hear you on the radio often.

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  36. Probably for the best - you've got more important things to be taking care of and it shows you're moving up in the world. You're lucky you get to spend so much of your working days doing something you find enjoyable so there's no need to clog it up with something your heart isn't in anymore.

    Good luck Iain!

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  37. Thanks for some good reads and for the occasional link to me. Fare well.

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  38. Sorry to see you go felow blogger - you are one of the good guys
    I understand your reasons and wish you well in your ventures.
    Sometimes we need a break to see if we miss things -who knows maybe you will return in another guise
    Hugs
    VM

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  39. Many thanks for many years of blogging. You offered a light-hearted - serious when it was needed - diary of the political events of the day, and will be missed. But it is completely understandable.

    This decision also means that - by consequence - my 'reading' role in the blogosphere will come to an end.

    Happy retirement(?).

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  40. On a purely selfish note I'm very sad that my favourite blog is stopping - no one says it as clearly as you do Iain. I hope that you continue all your success in print and on the airwaves. Goods luck Iain.

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  41. Sorry to see you go Iain but completely understand having wound down my own blogging commitments in August for similar reasons.

    Good luck with your businesses and radio show. I hope they continue to go well.

    Mark.

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  42. I've rarely agreed with you, but you have helped put political blogging on the map in this country and your opinions will be missed.

    Good luck for the future and I hope we don't lose your voice - wrong though it may be!

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  43. Sorry to see you go Iain. Your blog has made me a much more politically aware and active person. Your blog has been a companion through some long days as a GP, and has always helped cheer me up as well as inform/educate me.

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  44. Sorry to see you go (another one off my blogroll!), Iain, but look forward to your new site, whatever it may be.

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  45. Sorry to hear this Iain, been a reader for 5 years or so and enjoyed "most" of it; 'see' you at your new place next year then...

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  46. A sad day indeed, but what a brilliant innings.

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  47. It's going to be strange without you. I can see why you've made your decision but you will be missed, even by peace loving leftie hippies like me.

    I really enjoy the radio show - it's good to see you enjoying something you are very good at. Is there any chance you could please continue to post up what's coming up on your show in order that I can plan my evening round it?:-)

    Anyway, so long and thanks for all the fish, as they say.

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  48. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." Samuel Johnson

    It has been a free lunch for many years.

    When you address substantive political issues these days it is hard to miss the sense of you having to force yourself to say something.

    If your prefer publishing and broadcasting other people's musings, it would be rash person who said you do not know how best to live your life.

    You can look back with satisfaction that for quite a few years you were one of the most important political opinion formers in the country. Indeed in your old age you will look back on that achievement with astonishment.

    Live long and prosper.

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  49. Hell of a job. Great innings.

    TBH the quality has suffered of late and this somehow seemed inevitable. Like the best of boxers you have known when to retire.

    Be proud of what you have achieved here.

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  50. So the landscape continues to change ... all the best for the future, and I'll be missing your writing.

    'Tis better to have a sudden decision to close than a long whimper.

    I'll only make one blogging comment: please don't delete it all (think of all the lost passive ad revenue :-), just in case...

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  51. Understandable really, it is easier to blog in opposition than being defensive of the coalition.

    Will continue to listen to your show on LBC who apart from Ken Livingstone is a great vehicle.

    Good luck.

    I see a book coming out in a few months featuring your best blogs over the last 5-years and some of the exchanges in the comments.

    P.S. Will you still be bloging in the championship about WHU

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  52. Iain,
    So sorry to hear you’re giving up your blog but I can well understand why.
    I love your LBC radio show and I think the lessons you’ve learned from your blog have helped you become a good presenter.

    Your blog is fun for the same reason that the programme is fun. Despite being full of information, your language on both your blog and spoken is very light and conversational and quite quirky at times. It makes, what can be a very dusty subject (politics), lively and interesting.

    On your radio programme....when there is someone else speaking and you are silent, you can hear the cogs turning! I wonder if this is because every day in order to service your blog with stories, you have learned to always be open to any information and to listen carefully when someone else is speaking. I guess it’s part of your character too.
    You seldom miss much, but we’ll miss you blogging.

    Best Wishes

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  53. Idle to believe I shan't miss you - I shall.

    Good luck with all your other enterprises, particularly in publishing. We desperately need more publishers.

    Bit early, but a Happy Christmas and may the New Year bring all you desire (and don't necessarily deserve)!

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  54. Iain- perhaps you could feel it in your heart to give a hat tip to James Burdett who has a good site and is a local Tory from Hertfordshire I believe. An up and coming blogger to watch in my view.

    P.S. I have no axe to grind except to get the Tory message across.

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  55. I am sad that you are going to give up blogging, but I understand your reasons for doing so. There's a time for everything, and nothing goes on for ever.

    May I wish you all the very best in the future. I have really enjoyed reading your blog, and will look forward to reading any contribution you may make on your new website.

    You'll be missed!

    Diana.

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  56. It truly is the end of an era! I've been reading since around 2006/2007.

    Good luck and thanks for all your hard work on the blog!

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  57. Best of luck for future,Think your heart is in radio and tv now,so wise of you to concentrate efforts in what you enjoy, Kind Regards

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  58. Nick Robinson winning 'Blogger of the Year' was probably the last straw. Nevertheless, thanks for all your good work and good luck for the future.

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  59. Iain

    Thanks for your efforts - your blog has been a daily must read of mine for a long time and has been immensely enjoyable.

    I wish you all the very best and look forward to the occasional post.

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  60. Sorry to hear that as have read your blog since 2005 but take care.

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  61. All the best with the new ventures, thankyou for the thoughtful and high quality blogging. Sorry to see you go.

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  62. You will be missed, particularly for the fairness of this blog towards all, no matter the political hue.

    The reasons for your retirement are of course totally valid. Given the viciousness of the left, particularly now that everything is imploding for them, means that they would make mischief and attempt to destroy business and livlihood which would not be fair on yourself and those who rely on you.

    You will be missed.

    In the meantime all success to the publishing and the radio broadcasting.

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  63. You're a decent man, Dale, and it's always shone through in your blog: looking for the best in people before criticising and defending others when the mob is ranting.

    Thought for a while you've been stretching yourself too thinly and hope you don't find the same still happening with the rest of your interests.

    As for your LBC show, a radio phone in – for all its faults – at least has the merit of forcing listeners to front up on their opinions when calling; unlike, as you say, the backbiting and anonymous abuse inherent in blog comments (though texts etc can still be unpleasant).

    Good luck.

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  64. What sad news for us, Iain, but congratulations on the success that brings it about.

    Yours is not only the first blog that I read every day, but also the best pointer to whatever else is readable out there. I will be lost.

    Biteback is hugely impressive and I am certain that it is going to do you very well in the future.

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  65. You will be missed, au-revoir.

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  66. I had noticed the gradual decline of your blog for sometime now.

    I will put out the flags...

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  67. I'm very sorry, Iain; you've been part of my daily routine for about five years now and will be sorely missed. All the best with your publishing and broadcasting careers. I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of you elsewhere!

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  68. Your blog inspired me to start blogging and it's always been the yardstick I've aimed for but consistently failed to even come close to. I'm sure your new blog will be even better than this one.
    Best wishes.

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  69. A shame, but you helped put political blogging on the map and the mainstream media's subsequent headlong rush to jump on the bandwagon is not a bad legacy.

    I entirely sympathise with the points you make about sometimes having to caveat what you really want to say because of your other business interests and roles - I myself have found blogging harder over the past 2-3 years for much the same sorts of reasons.

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  70. Cheerio Iain and thank you for the years of free news, comment and entertainment


    Best wishes

    Mark

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  71. Thanks it's been fun. Good luck.

    "I am, and will remain, a Conservative supporter,"

    Well no-one's perfect.

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  72. I find it fascinating and disturbing that, in a very real sense, the fact that you had opinions got you to where you are... yet the fact that you still have opinions now appears to be holding you back.

    You must obviously do what is right for you personally, your health and business, but it is very sad that you even have to make this choice.

    I wish you well.

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  73. What a pity you are ending your blogging days, Iain. I have long thought you are by far the most "normal"- (human as it were) blogger around. On the right, anyway.

    But there is no doubt that it can take over your life.

    In fact I am sorely tempted to do the same - ABOUT TIME TOO - many would suggest.

    All the best Iain. But to be blunt, the blogosphere is too nasty a place for such as you.

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  74. A sensible decision for you to make.
    We will miss you.

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  75. PS I'm reminded of how sad I was when Politicos - a bookshop, with actual physical books and so forth, for those of you too young to remember such things - finally closed. But then look what you achieved after that! So it ought to be fun to see where life leads you next ...

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  76. Sorry to see you go Iain but as you say, your health and business must come first - your daily postings will be missed.

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  77. Good luck, Iain. You can look back on your achievements in this sphere with pride and you should regard the snide comments made against you as compliments - nobody bothers insulting a nobody.

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  78. Better to go out while you're still at the top than when you're realising that you're spreading yourself too thinly.

    Good luck with the radio programme and the publishing business.

    And Merry Christmas!

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  79. The cynical amongst us might possibly think that having used the blog to make your name, you have now self promoted to the point where it is no longer necessary?

    Then again, we might assume that if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?

    It's your decision what ever the reason. I never paricularly enjoyed reading your stuff, but at least you had something to say...even if it was just a tad on the biased side a lot of the time.

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  80. I took your blog off bookmarks a couple of months ago after deciding it wasn't quite as fun a read as it used to be - in retrospect this post problably explains that.

    even so i've thoroughly enjoyed reading the blog over the last few years, so wanted to thank you and wish you all the best for the future

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  81. A shame. but all the best to you.

    So long, and thanks for all the fisks.

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  82. Crikey. Didn't see that coming.

    But well done for all you've done to help develop the political bloggosphere these past few years.

    Hope it all goes well for you.

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  83. Damn shame. I wish you well with your endeavours, Mr Dale. I doubt whether Guido will provide the same level of balanced (for the most part) and thoughtful comment.

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  84. Sorry to see this - always thought you were very "sensible" with nearly all your posts and views. I will miss having this reference point.

    LBC on Digital just about reaches Bristol so will tune in from 7-10 when possible.

    Keep up the political interests please as you interviewing/with Brandreth etc etc on politics is exceptional entertainment.

    Good luck & many thanks

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  85. Iain, surely it must be easier to blog in opposition. Not so much thought required to churn out a blog post pointing out the stupidity, inconsistency, unfairness and/or deceitfulness of the Labour government's latest action. I imagine when it's your own party committing the stupidity, inconsistency, unfairness and/or deceitfulness it's much harder work to blog regularly.

    Having said that, I've enjoyed the diverse replies that your blog posts usually generate.
    Enjoy your retirement (and enjoy the Championship next season ;-)

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  86. Cheers Iain and good luck. Kudos for a job well done

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  87. I am sad to hear you are giving up. Yours was the first blog I followed and although it has not had the same impact as when I first joined you, nonetheless you have been informative,entertaining and thought provoking.

    I wish you well for the future. Quite how you can stomach the current Conservative Party I do not know, but that is a choice you have made. We all have to move on sometimes.

    Best wishes.

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  88. Wow. I've been reading your blog pretty much from the beginning - your writing has been consistently insightful and well argued, and there will be now be a big hole in my daily political fix.

    In a strange sort of way I feel like I know you quite well having been reading your various ramblings for such a long period of time, and you have always seemed like a thoroughly decent people. I wish you all the best.

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  89. A great shame. I had your blog and Paul Waugh's (at your recommendation) on my RSS feed and now you're both gone :(

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  90. So sorry that you are leaving, although I quite understand why. Along with The Daily Dish, yours was my favourite political blog. I'm a bit of a bleeding heart lefty, but I loved hearing such a charming and sane voice from the Right, especially as I have given up tribalism. You will be very much missed.

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  91. Shame - you will be missed. DOn't know why you will continue with Twitter - a waste of space for those of us with an attention span.

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  92. Dear Iain,

    I've never commented before, but have been reading your blog for several years. I've appreciated your moderation, conviction and insight and, in spite of having different background political beliefs, I will miss reading your contributions to the debates of the day.

    Thanks, and best wishes for the future.

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  93. Congratulations on moving on Iain, I wish you every success with future ventures.

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  94. Good luck Iain. I fully understand why you have done it. Thanks for blogging so much.

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  95. I've often wondered how you managed to divide between this blog and your businesses and thought it must be a tightrope on occasions.

    Thank you for your support Iain and also I look forward to reading your occasional contribution. May the road you travel be one which brings you pleasure.

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  96. You are a remarkable man with huge talent. I think you have made a wise decision and will go on to further important achievements. Do keep the Twitter going though. Deep regards.

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  97. Madame Arcati's interpretation of Mr Dale's wise career move - http://madamearcati.blogspot.com/2010/12/iain-dale-blog-announces-its-murder-old.html

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  98. Not at all surprising Iain, sad though it is. You have been quintessential in spurring on political blogging in the UK.

    Best of luck in all your future endeavours and look forward to the new site.

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  99. "I'm working 9am to 10pm five days a week."

    Is that not contravening the EU directive on working hours?

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  100. Thank you, Iain, for your entertainment and thought provoking comment over the years. Guess we'll just have to tune in to LBC for our daily fix now!

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  101. Sad to see you go.

    http://fxbites.blogspot.com/2010/12/blogging-dead-horse.html

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  102. Very sad that you've made this decision although I completely understand the reasons behind it. You're blog was one of the best online and will be solely missed. Hopefully you'll be continuing to contribute to the seven days show?

    Oh and should also mention that I've brought both of Biteback's recent books on the formation of the Coalition on the Kindle format and thoroughly enjoyed them both. I found out about them both though this blog so hopefully you'll mention future book releases on the blog as well.

    All the best.

    Charles

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  103. sorry to hear you are going Iain, good luck, and hope you return to dabble in the blogosphere again at some point. will miss this blog

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  104. A blog is only a medium. Your output is becoming less free which is a shame, but realistic, given your circumstances. But your voice survives on radio, and you have the emailing list to keep in touch and notify people of any thoughts or developments. You have done much to get the blogosphere going in Blighty. Now TV, publishing and radio will consume your potential. Onwards and upwards. Good luck.

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  105. Thanks for all the fish ......

    it has been fun

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  106. Au revoir and thanks for all the entertainment and interest you have provided on your blog. Of course you will be missed, so make sure it is just au revoir!

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  107. A sad day indeed. I've only been "stalking" you for the past couple of years but its been enjoyable. Will have to read Dan Hannan or John Redwood more frequently now, but they're a trifle more serious. Guido, of course, remains No. 1.

    Not surprised at your decision but I bet you get remembered much more for blogging than broadcasting! Especially as your views become anodyne as a broadcaster.

    Oh and by the way, tweeting is a very poor substitute for blogging particularly as tweets get cut off on my phone.

    Good luck in your many enterprises.

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  108. Iain,

    Many thanks for opening a fascinating door into the world of politics through which many others have followed you. Your writing has always been insightful, witty, concise, humane and decent, and I ahve greatly enjoyed reading you just about every day. All the best in your future endeavours.

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  109. Well, that leaves a big hole and I shall miss your blog. Good luck with everything, you deserve it.

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  110. This is a shame. There are two blogs that I regularly read: Guido and yours, with yours always being the first one I check.

    As someone who is not particularly political, I have been a reader for a few years now (since uni!) - I always found your blog easy to read and interesting, despite often disagreeing with your views (I am a conservative witha small 'c', and very much dislike party politics!).

    All the best business wise, and I suppose I can still listen to you on LBC.

    Without wanting to sound like a complete lovie, I think I will be a bit lost without your blog for getting my daily policical fix. Reconsider!!

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  111. Iain,

    Thank you, sincerely.

    I have enjoyed your blog greatly and will miss your opinions. I did not, as you know, always agree with you, but I certainly respected your point of view.

    Never say never and, perhaps, you could write an occasional review of books, politics and personalities.

    Good luck and take care of your diabetes.

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  112. Very sorry to see you 'retire' but not altogether surprised; especially after you started to broadcast daily.
    Congratulations on your achievement. And it was really through catching onto your diary about four years ago that I now read so much, daily. It used to be just The Eye that kept us provincials alive to what was going on. You led the way so far as I am concerned so a big thank you and good luck.

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  113. Thanks for all your hard work over the last five years. I and many others have enjoyed it enormously.

    Best wishes for the future
    TimHedges@blogspot.com

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  114. I thought you had stopped months ago and been replaced by a radio ad.

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  115. Thanks for the blog Iain - it was probably the first I tuned into regularly and certainly pointed me to many other fine blogs.
    For me blogs are now my main source of news - stuff gets posted that the mainstream don't want to share with us; even though we have 24 hour news coverage, the Beeb and Sky prefer to keep churning over the same old reports rather than try to be comprehensive.
    It's great to get instant analysis on the blogs with feedback from other commenters. It's been a mini-revolution, and you were a leader.
    Thanks again and good luck.

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  116. Iain - there are many different types of bloggers out there - but your effort was the gold standard.

    In a time when others have resorted to nasty tactics to build a readership, you did it with trust, sincerity and fun.

    Unfortunately your blogs passing leaves a void where a reasoned, independent voice should be. It will be interesting to see if this gap will be filled. For those who want to fill your shoes - your ability to hold your hand-up when you got something wrong is a great place to start.

    Thanks for all your efforts. Certainly appreciated.

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  117. shame I've been introduced to great blogs like hurryupharry, dizzy and geraldine dreadfull through you, well not the last one

    what about the hammers blog.

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  118. Iain,
    Your blog has always been fair and thought-provoking, and played its part in building my interest in politics, so thanks. Good luck with your many pursuits!

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  119. Thank you Iain - and good luck.

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  120. Good decision Iain,

    Always go out at the top.

    I think you have done a fantastic job for the blogging community and I don't understand the MSM trying to paint the demise of Tory blogging. You have now got a nightly radio show I would see that as a step up in the field of communication.

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  121. I'll keep it short. You're a good man Dale and I wish you all the very best for the future.

    Despite my 20 year membership of the Labour Party I have always enjoyed reading your blog and have found it considered, thought provoking and fundamentally honest.

    It is unfortunate that you vacate the field to the unpleasant backbiting partisan hacks that dominate the blogosphere but what they have never realised (but you always did) is that blogging can only be truly successful and influential if one has an open mind and objectivity.

    Anyway, farewell. A sad day for blogging but, I dare say, a damn relief for you. Good luck pal.

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  122. Can I also pass on my thanks for a great blog and I will miss you.

    Good luck in your new endeavours too.

    Dave Atherton

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  123. It's always best to "leave them wanting more". Best of luck with future ventures.

    Thanks for demonstrating so eloquently that it's possible to have deep disagreements in politics without any personal animosity.

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  124. Oh dear, you will be missed. But who, I ask, now speaks for Royal Tunbridge Wells?

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  125. Shame to hear that, Iain, but it has to be said that many must have been wondering how you managed to fit all the business, writing and broadcasting in, not to mention normal home life.

    Best of luck for the future.

    (the advertiser problem, it was a charity, yes?) ;)

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  126. and i was wondering how your fitted the rest of your life in....

    good luck.

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  127. Good luck, Iain. It has been pleasure to read your posts over the years. Onwards and upwards!

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  128. A great shame to see y9u go, but understandable. Thanks for all the fun you have given me over the years since I found your blog.

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  129. "Radio killed the blogosphere star" - I'm sure somebody once wrote a song about it.

    Something had to give - had given maybe - but I would have preferred a bit of delegation and re-invention to complete closure.

    Well done and Good Luck in any event.

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  130. Best of luck - and thanks for all the great posts.

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  131. Best wishes Iain!
    You gave me the chance to voice my utter hatred for the moron Brown and his thugs and I thank you for that.
    Good luck in everything you do and I shall buy you a pint if I ever meet you!
    Regards

    Mike

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  132. A joke for today surely?

    No seriously, I am sorry to see you slowing down on the blog front, but all for very understandable reasons. I have enjoyed reading you (and occasionally posting in the comments) for some years now.

    I do hope that you will continue to do the excellent Seven Day Show with Jonathan Sheppard which I think I have been listening from the beginning. Before that of course the Doughty Street stuff.

    Also, I'm really pleased that Grant Tucker will continue with the excellent Daley Dozen. I hope he can expand this site to include, for example, guest writers?

    Anyway, good luck with the future,

    Maybe one of these days I will meet you and buy you a pint - or whatever?

    Ed

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  133. We will miss you. Goodbye and good luck.

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  134. Well, good luck and all that, but I can't help thinking back six months ago when - tongue planted so firmly in my cheek it was starting to germinate - I wrote a comment about you "outgrowing" blogging and was rewarded with the full force of an indignant "parish notice" denouncing the comment as outrageous, not to mention several of the Fundalementalists weighing in below the salt saying it was tantamount to a war crime me trying to cut the great man down. As if.

    I won't do the dirty and quote back what you said then - people can look it up if they want to - and I am sure you feel a lot has changed in those six months, especially your growing business success and maturing profile in the grown-up media. All things considered, however, blogging is essentially a game for amateurs - if not exactly gentlemen - and you are now firmly in among the ranks of the professionals. I hope that world smiles upon you too.

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  135. Sorry to see you go Iain, it's been a very worthwhile experience, and I wish you all the best in your other ventures.
    And of course a Merry Christmas!

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  136. It's been obvious for a while that the blog was slowing down and I can fully understand why with everything else that you had going on.

    Enjoy yourself with your new future!!

    I will bob back every week or so to see how it's going.

    Daedalus

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  137. Damn Iain,

    Your blog was the only Conservative blog I could read without wincing.

    Sorry that your stopping, and apologies for anything nasty I may have said in the past.

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  138. but I only read it for the first time today...no!

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  139. I think you gave up, no thats not right, I think you moved on sometime after your PPC rejections.
    I'm sure you would have liked to have won but it seems you are going to find life far more fullfilling than you would have if you were warming the back benches.
    Good luck & thank you

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  140. This is a daily-click I'll miss a great deal. Thanks for your work here, Iain.

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  141. We will miss you ... please come back soon!

    Pierre (France)

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  142. Im sure Gio will be delighted to hear you may be somewhat more attentive whilst watching telly as you will be no longer chained to your blackberry 24/7 !
    Pleased you are making dreams real, enjoy life and be happy, love to you all x Jan George(Smallfield)

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  143. The best of luck in your new endeavours.

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  144. A roundabout way to announce a political retirement, I suppose, but there we go.

    I quit my tiny little blog back in September because it'd achieved its purpose: it had played its infinitesimal role in the destruction of the worst government this nation has ever had inflicted upon it. Job done.

    At least I, and most private bloggers like me, were never pretending (we were what we were) that we had were anything else.

    Iain Dale has always whored his blog as a campaign platform, while always pretending that that was precisely what it wasn't - that it was a genuine private blog - thus making him out to be some kind of objective voice.

    For a while even I fell for it. For a while.

    It's hardly coincidental, therefore, that now he's finally decided his political career is over, the blog is too. Seems it's served its purpose.

    So much for his loyal following. Obviously, they can go **** themselves. They've clearly served their purpose too.

    Cometh the man...

    Ho ho.

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  145. I will be sorry to see you go, your blog is one of the first, along with Guido, that got me into blogging. I am thus unsure whether to thank you or not! Good luck with your future activities and I look forward to your occasional postings as wll as Grant's daily blog spots...

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  146. Good luck for the future. You will do well because you've taken a courageous decision here and will make your own luck as you go.
    I will miss your musings but life must go on.
    Enjoy your Christmas and a Happy new year.

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  147. It is always a sad day when something goes out of your life and for nearly four years I have avidly read your blog. Your good nature and decency has shone through all you write. You have confounded the far from small lunatic fringe who have tried to turn blogging into a blood sport. You have shared your highs and lows with us all. Now it is coming to an end and there is nothing more to say except “Thank You, Iain”. Your contribution to politics has been immense and completely benign and how many politicians have that claim to fame? Very very few.

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  148. A pity,this was a good blog.
    Wishing you a cool Yule Iain.

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  149. Sad to see you go, but pleased that it's in favour of activities that you're obviously enjoying and are successful at. And the best of luck with them!

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  150. We didn't have much to agree on in the political world, but you have been a very consistent and entertaining blogger and will be missed. I remember you coming to the Plaid Spring conference and your very presence was an encouragement for many to look at the net to express their views and debate.
    Your site will be missed and I wish you well for the future.

    Ian Titherington

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  151. A loss, but then nothing lasts forever.

    Not only was there a consistently high level of postings, but in the main the level of comments stayed within reasonable bounds too.

    All the very best in your new ventures.

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  152. Sad news. This blog has been an obligatory daily read for ages - you'll be missed.

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  153. Iain you introduced me to the world of political blogs, thanks and my best wishes for the future

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  154. Thanks for joining in the fight against New Labour and their bankrupting policies. It has been fun commenting on your site for the past 5 years.

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  155. Onwards and Upwards Iain! I'm really going to miss your blog as it's part of my morning routine - thanks to you I have read books I wouldn't have done and bought the Mika album solely on your recommendation.

    You did a great job and the political blogosphere will be less interesting without you!

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  156. Sorry to see you shuffle off this mortal blogoshpere coil, Iain. I always enjoyed your posts. Far too many good bloggers are giving up these days. Such a shame. Adios!

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  157. I am a fairly recent reader but the Diary has brightened up my days. Best of luck for the next stage of life.

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  158. In opinion , you gave blogs an example of how decent a blog should be. I will be listeing to your LBC show which is getting more and more popular. Good luck.

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  159. Goodbye Iain
    It's been emotinal

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  160. I think you have done the right thing Iain. I wish you all the best for the future. Your blog (along with Guido's) introduced me to centre-right politics, and I thank you for the experience.

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  161. "The Last Post" - gone, but not forgotten. Enjoyed your blog very much.

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  162. "I hate the backbiting that goes along with it. I hate the character assassination that is permanently present."

    and you blog about politics - irony much?

    thanks for suffering for us, our bleeding are with you.

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  163. I have rather gone off you over the last year but your blog introduced me to a new world a while ago and I owe you thanks for that.
    Frankly going out with a boast and a whine leaves me cold but there it is .

    Good luck

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  164. Sorry to see you go Iain.

    I quite understand your reasons for retiring your daily blogging... fact is, I used to contribute regularly (here and everywhere) but commitments in life have forced me to limit my past energetic online activities.

    Having said that, please keep in mind that many of your followers don't live in that London and will not have access to your valued insights or opinions. I hope, time allowing, you'll toss a few words this way for your provincial and overseas fans.

    Good luck Iain. Its been fun and you'll be sincerely missed.

    John Pickworth

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  165. Very sorry to see you leave, though totally understandable.

    Happened upon your blog during the Southall by-election, just after the Tory candidate (Tony Dinh, Linh, Singh, whoever he was he was a fake Tory) had been unmasked as a Blair supporter; not Cameron's finest hour (Did a Yahoo search and it also offered up Tom Watson).

    Since then, well done and thanks. I'll leave the tribute to Guido, and the thanks for posting a few of my underhand contributions; notably "McCain won by one vote" (my Democrat friends had orgasms when I linked them to a "Big British Political Blog" that carried that).

    Can't listen to the LBC show cos it's mid morning on the west coast. I have to rely on the Seven Days Show; you're still doing that right?

    PS - I just bought a Biteback book!

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  166. Many thanks for all the blogging you have done. As an avid reader, I did sense when you started the radio show, that the blog was
    on borrowed time, and it is no surprise you have decided to draw a line under it. I am a bit disappointed you are giving up on party politics, it seems to me you would be a much better MP or MEP than many of those we have, but it is your choice to make, and I can
    only respect it and wish you well for the future.

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  167. Thanks for all the hard work you've put into lots of stimulating and interesting posts!

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  168. I shall miss this site. It was one of the few political blogs I enjoyed, but I had noticed that your heart was no longer in it. Good luck in your broadcasting and publishing career. Still, there is always the chance that you may find you really miss blogging and will return to it at some point.

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  169. All the best Iain, thanks for the good times and putting up with us grumpy old peeps. All the best for the future.We will miss you....

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  170. But you can't go now, not while your loyal audience is still waiting for the list of the Top 20 Political Traitors you promised so long ago. Get back to your desk, Dale, and pick up that keyboard!

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  171. Iain, I will miss your blog too. We all burn out of steam, I know exactly what you mean. Good luck with your new ventures, and I'm sure you will be a great success.

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  172. Tunbridge Wells will never be the same again Iain!

    Your blog was the first I ever read!

    Good luck.

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  173. Sorry to note the cessation of your blog.
    Although I'm a stauch left-of-centre Scot Nat, your blod has always been required reading for me, and followers of my own blog!
    Conservatism with a human face, to borrow a phrase.
    I wish you well.

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