Profile: Andy Gilchrist

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