Profile: Andy Gilchrist

Tuesday November 26, 2002 14:32

by IRSP

A union firebrand, but not a 'flaming idiot'

Profile: Andy Gilchrist A union firebrand, but not a 'flaming idiot' By Paul Vallely "The firefighters should not profit at the expense of the genuinely low paid" They have done their best to demonise Andy Gilchrist, the leader of the striking firefighters' union. First, the tabloids set off to inspect his home, hoping to find a fat-cat, union baron's mansion somewhere in Surrey only to find a modest semi in suburban Chertsey where the neighbours unhelpfully told reporters that their intended victim was a "friendly outgoing man" who does all he can for local residents.

Profile: Andy Gilchrist
A union firebrand, but not a 'flaming idiot'
By Paul Vallely

"The firefighters should not profit at the expense of the genuinely low
paid"

They have done their best to demonise Andy Gilchrist, the leader of the
striking firefighters' union. First, the tabloids set off to inspect his
home, hoping to find a fat-cat, union baron's mansion somewhere in Surrey
only to find a modest semi in suburban Chertsey where the neighbours
unhelpfully told reporters that their intended victim was a "friendly
outgoing man" who does all he can for local residents. As for his private
life, they disclosed nothing more than that Mr Gilchrist likes to relax by
walking along the Thames.

So, no posh house, but what about a posh school? "Militant fire strike
leader Andy Gilchrist attended a fee-paying private school", a headline in
The Sun subsequently screamed. The school, founded in the 18th century, now
charges £7,443 a year, it disclosed. Ah ha! And this was the man whose
union says it is "part of the working-class movement" and aims to "bring
about the socialist system". The only trouble was that Bedford Modern
School was a direct-grant school when young Gilchrist began there. And "he
certainly doesn't talk like he's been to a fee-paying school," as one
seasoned trade unionist wryly observed.

So, no posh school, but what about a posh hotel? "The Fire Brigades Union
chief scored a public relations own-goal when he spent last night in the
£184-a-night Balmoral Hotel as his members spent their first stint on the
streets demanding higher pay," crowed the Scottish Daily Record after Mr
Gilchrist began a nationwide tour of his members in Edinburgh. "The only
thing is," said one of the hacks accompanying him, "that he stayed in a
very basic place with 'Inn' at the end of its name".

So, no posh hotel either. No wonder the tabloids had to console themselves
with headlines describing him as a "Flaming Idiot" as they continued in a
fairly pathetic attempt to whip up a frenzy of public resentment against
the firefighters and their leader. Even that backfired. "We just want to
say," said one fireman to Mr Gilchrist at a rally in Newport that day,
"that when they attack you, they attack us".

Andy Gilchrist affects not to be bothered by any of it. "He tends not to
read the press," said one of those close to him. "He thinks the electronic
media are far more important. So, while he'll go on the telly at the drop
of a hat, he really doesn't give a monkeys about the tabloids."

The truth is, say those who know him, that Andy Gilchrist doesn't have much
interesting to be discovered. In part, that is because the man has a
privacy which is unaffected; "When you ask him questions like: 'How do you
feel?'," said one veteran labour correspondent, "he just doesn't seem to
have the emotional engagement to want to answer them. Inner feelings aren't
part of his professional landscape."

And in part, that is because what you see is what you get. When the
television cameras have packed up for the day, he doesn't do anything much
more exciting than have a couple of pints of lager and a curry, "and have
the blokeish kind of conversations you enjoy if you've lived your life in a
male-dominated environment".

The worst thing they have managed to discover about him is that he has a
photo of that romantic icon of hippy internationalism, Ché Guevara, on the
wall in his office. That and the bit on the Fire Brigades Union website
about how its "ultimate aim" is "the bringing about of the Socialist system
of society". And even there the seasoned union observers sigh. "The photo
of Ché was probably a tactical mistake in PR terms, though it tells you
something about how Andy is true to himself," said one supporter, "and the
stuff about the advent of socialism is probably there in most union
constitutions. It's all fairly standard trade union stuff."

Fairly standard trade unionism is what Andy Gilchrist is all about, those
who know him say. He was a bright boy who went to grammar school but, the
son of an able seaman and a dinner lady, one who never shook off his sense
of being working class.

After O and A-levels and an unsuccessful attempt to become a professional
footballer with a trial at Luton Town he joined the Bedford Fire Service
at the age of 19. He excelled there and soon reached the rank of junior
officer, later distinguishing himself in a brave rescue of a family of
three from a blazing flat above a shop. He went back into the building a
fourth time to make sure no-one else was trapped but later insisted he was
no hero, saying: "I was just doing my job. That's what you spend all your
time training for and practising for."

From early on he became active in the union. He had developed an interest
in political activism as a schoolboy at the age of 16 when he attended a
Rock Against Racism concert. But it was in the union that he found his
political direction, working his way through every rank in the FBU, from
brigade to regional to executive council level.

After 17 years as a serving officer, in 1996 he became a full-time official
and four years later, just short of his 40th birthday, was elected general
secretary to take over from the retiring FBU leader, Ken Cameron. He
described his election as "probably the most unlikely thing that could have
happened to me. I thought I'd do 30 years in the fire service as a member
of the union. I'm very proud of my fire-service career." In the post, he
earns £41,235 a year the same as a senior divisional officer.

From the outset it became clear that he was not going to be an easy
partner for the party to which the FBU was, and remains, affiliated. Even
before his election, he indicated he would be a thorn in the side of New
Labour. "If we are one of the scars on Tony Blair's back, so be it," he
said. Since then he has been associated with a new "awkward squad" of
left-wing union leaders, lumped together with Bob Crow of the RMT rail
union, Mick Rix of the Aslef rail union, Mark Serwotka of the PCS civil
servants' union and the new Amicus leader, Derek Simpson. Mr Gilchrist
himself was once quoted as saying: "It's a well-known secret that many of
us meet up to discuss. We'll support each other on specific issues and
follow each other's lead."

Given this background, and Mr Gilchrist's talent for pithy soundbites which
he delivers with a passion that connects with his members and many members
of the public, it was perhaps inevitable that hostile sections of the media
should compare him with Arthur Scargill. Those who know him well dispute
this. "He's not a Scargillite. He doesn't see the dispute as a battering
ram for the revolution," said one insider. "He wanted a settlement, and he
was terribly disappointed yesterday morning when he thought he had one and
it all fell through his hands."

The other distinction between Mr Gilchrist and Mr Scargill lies in the fire
union's ambivalence to the Labour Party. Despite his "scars on Blair's
back" remarks, he campaigned for his members to vote Labour at the last
election. "In a relatively short time, Tony Blair's Government has achieved
much and introduced many measures to improve living standards and
opportunities for working people and their families," he wrote to
firefighters. He cited the minimum wage, child benefit, lower unemployment,
and living standards and state pensions "rising faster than average
earnings".

And yet he also withdrew financial support from FBU-sponsored MPs who did
not support the firemen's pay claim. "If MPs want to write and say: 'We
don't think that firefighters are worth £30,000 a year' then don't write
and ask for money to get re-elected," he said.

He is equivocal in other areas too. Mr Gilchrist has been critical of
Labour's links to big business. He is a key supporter of the Stop the War
Coalition against military action in Iraq. On that subject he revealed
himself as a skilful public speaker in a moving speech at last year's
Labour Party conference, in which he praised the firefighters in New York
on 11 September and warned against retaliation for the sake of retribution.

At this year's party conference Downing Street aides asked for a sneak
preview of his speech, fearing he would use his platform time to support
the Palestinian cause. Mr Gilchrist, true to character, refused, but then
went on to use the speech to push his union's pay demand.

It has been a difficult tightrope to walk. At one moment he has been saying
things like: "The FBU's message to New Labour is 'lighten up'. Trust your
old friends. Embrace diversity, encourage debate, for this is the surest
way to safeguard democracy." But then he is just as likely to call on
Labour to "demonstrate that it is not simply a party for the middle
classes, where policy is decided at dinner parties".

The trade union movement, he has thundered, "feels justifiably that we are
caught between a rock and a hard place in our relationship with New Labour.
That too often we are forced to settle for less than we deserve despite
signing the cheques at election time because we do not want to jeopardise
the possibility of Labour winning [again]."

And yet he adds: "It is our job as trade unionists to pursue the interests
of our members as best we can. This has to be our strategy and we should
not apologise for it. New Labour should not be so paranoid about
controversy in debate; they should not be resentful of constructive
criticism. We in the trade unions should not be wary of making demands on
behalf of our members, indeed on behalf of the poor and dispossessed
because still, as Rabbie Burns said: 'The world's goods are ill divided'."

Indeed. But then no one ever said that politics was fair. "Andy's not a
stupid man," one supporter said yesterday, "but he's miscalculated. He
wanted to go up to the wire and get the best settlement possible. Now it's
all gone pear-shaped. He's going to have to fight the strike, and he'll
almost certainly lose."

Life story

Born Andrew Charles Gilchrist on 5 December 1960 in Portsmouth; father
Edward, a Scottish able seaman; mother Shirley, a school dinner-lady.

Education Bedford Modern School. Left after A-levels. Took Open University
course, funded by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), but dropped out.

Family Married Loretta Borman in 1985; they have a10-year-old son and a
six-year-old daughter.

Career Joined Bedfordshire fire service in 1979. Served as a firefighter
at Dunstable and Luton stations, becoming a leading firefighter responsible
for an engine and crew. Spent 17 years on the front line. An active trade
unionist he served the FBU at brigade and regional level, joining the FBU
national executive in 1993. He was a full-time official, with special
responsibility for equal opportunities, from 1996, and has been general
secretary since 2000.

He says "The struggle between capitalism and socialism will never go away
however nice we are to everyone."

They say "Gilchrist talks and acts like a left-wing militant dinosaur from
the Seventies." The Sun

"I hear all these horrible things they say about Andy because of the
strike. It makes me sad. This is the man who rescued me, my mum and dad
from our burning home." Rajinder Buller, who was saved by Gilchrist in
1991