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Me And My Partner: IAIN DALE AND JOHN SIMMONS

Independent, The (London), Jun 6, 2001 by Interviews by Alice Woolley

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We share a house too. John owns a big one in Tunbridge Wells and he said: "Why don't you come and live in Tunbridge Wells?" I can't say I'd thought of living there, but that was in 1997 and I'm still there, so he's my landlord. We have no social interests in common. I'm a season- ticket holder at West Ham and he hates football. Almost every television programme he likes, I don't. We often ask ourselves: Why do we get on? And we don't really know.

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John Simmons: I had a happy childhood in Tunbridge Wells. My father had a building business. But schooling was something I endured. I failed my 11-plus and went to the secondary school, which was rough. I was shy and timid, and still am now. My brother was interested in politics, but I wasn't. I couldn't wait to leave school and get a job, and I left halfway through my A-levels. Cars were my passion, and still are. The UK head office of Mazda cars is in Tunbridge Wells, so I joined them, first doing promotions then selling American-spec Mazdas to US forces based here.

I went to sell Vauxhall cars at a dealership, and after a while a colleague and I started a second-hand car business. It was your classic used-car lot of which the public are very suspicious. It ticked over but wasn't going anywhere. I had higher hopes, so I sold my share to my partner after three years.

I then got a job through a recruitment agency in medical sales for a company called Surgichem. Somehow I became the number one salesman. From there, I moved to Rhone-Poulenc, selling generic medicines. But after a while I became really tired of being a sales rep, constantly being in a car driving round the country.

I'd met Iain through a mutual friend and when he told me about his idea for Politico's it really appealed to me, though I had no interest in politics and no real interest in books either. He knew about those things, but hadn't any experience of working in a shop or how retail works. Our interests seemed to match.

Four years on I still have no interest in politics or books. On occasions I have served a government minister without knowing it until someone here has said: "You do know who that was . . ?" For the first couple of years I thought it was a disadvantage but now it's a distinct plus. Iain is crazy about politics - he lives and breathes it, and many of the staff share that. So my outsider point of view is handy.

I enjoy most aspects of running the business. I take care of all the bureaucracy, the paperwork and payroll. Iain is the showman. He can be very hotheaded. It's not just that he speaks before he thinks - he shouts loud before he thinks. If anyone isn't familiar with his ways, he can come across as rude. If he has a temper tantrum the staff get edgy, but it's over in five minutes. Fortunately, he doesn't shout at me.

The bookstore has grown beyond our expectations. It seemed fitting to launch the publishing company, and that too has grown beyond belief. My one regret is that my brother, Roger, never got to see Politico's. He was killed by a hit-and-run driver seven years ago in Bangkok. He would have loved this place.

Me And My Partner: IAIN DALE AND JOHN SIMMONS

Independent, The (London), Jun 6, 2001 by Interviews by Alice Woolley

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