Andy Gilchrist: Ousted from FBU general secretary job

In a move that could spell more trouble for Labour, Andy Gilchrist has lost the battle for leadership of the Fire Brigades Union.

Gilchrist has been beaten in the election for the job of general secretary by his left-wing challenger, Matt Wrack.

The announcement is likely to send a warning to ministers that firefighters are not happy with stewardship of their service.

Tussles with the government can be expected to erupt over pensions, job cuts and modernisation.

Gilchrist has held the top position in FBU for the past five years and led the long and bitter national strike over pay.

In 2003 firefighters staged a series of walkouts which left fire stations unmanned around the UK.

The military was called in to provide cover with the use of war-time Green Goddesses.

Many activists in the union were unhappy with the outcome of the dispute and felt Gilchrist gave too much ground in his negotiations with the government.

Allegiances have now been switched to Wrack, who argued against accepting the deal which ended the pay row.

Wrack also spoke in favour of the decision to disaffiliate the union from Labour last year.

And he argued the union should build links with other organisations that were sympathetic to the FBU.

Speaking after his promotion to general secretary, Wrack congratulated the outgoing Gilchrist on a hard-fought campaign and said he was "enormously proud" of his election.

"We now need to unite and face the challenges ahead. The FBU is the only union in the fire service with the unity and strength of purpose to face up to those challenges," he added.

Gilchrist said he had been very proud to serve the FBU for many years and urged all members to "unite to face the challenges ahead".

Unison

Other key unions have also been quick to send a message to the new Labour government.

Unison congratulated Labour on its historic achievement  of a third term and said the result was good news for public services.

But general secretary Dave Prentis said there were a number of issues to resolve with Labour around pensions, public sector reform and improving workers' rights.

And he said voters had been turned off from Labour by the "Iraq effect" and the party's privatisation agenda.

"They voted the Tories out because they didn't like it then and they don't like it now - what people want are good local schools, hospitals and transport," Prentis said.

And TUC general secretary Brendan Barber also warned Labour that the loss in electoral support should be acted upon.

He said Labour deserves credit for its first ever third consecutive victory, but the party now needed "a period of reflection", looking at why it lost votes and how it can win them back.

And Barber suggested that Labour needs to set itself two tasks.

"First it needs to put back together the broad electoral coalition that won the party power in 1997.  That means policies that will again energise traditional voters, as well as appealing to more recent converts and making new ones," he said.

"Secondly it needs to ask why millions of people who have benefited directly from Labour reforms - such as investment in public services, Sure Start, the minimum wage and tax credits - don't vote or vote for others, often because they don't give credit to the government for these progressive reforms."