any old millionaire...

‘I wanted something different and politics interested me’
The Herald

TOM GORDON, Scottish Political Correspondent
September 06 2005

CHARAN Gill, the millionaire entrepreneur who could become Scotland's first Asian MSP, last night defended his lack of political experience as he prepared to enter a bruising selection battle for Labour's candidacy in Glasgow Cathcart.
In an interview with The Herald soon after he picked up his application form to join the party, Mr Gill said he did not want to antagonise activists in the seat which has been left vacant by the resignation of Mike Watson. It was confirmed yesterday the by-election would be on September 29, in line with Labour's wishes, making for one of the shortest campaigns on record.
Mr Gill's lack of a party card has already raised hackles among time-served hopefuls and threatens to split Labour in a seat where the SNP needs an 11% swing for victory. One Labour councillor said Mr Gill's entry was "carpet bagging of the worst order".
However, Mr Gill said: "I'm not out to upset people. I will play straight and at the end of the day, if party members think I'm not the right choice, or they choose me, that's fine."
Mr Gill, 50, who arrived from the Punjab in 1963 and recently sold his Ashoka restaurant chain for £8m, said his family had always been "Labour people", although his focus in life until now had been on his businesses. After selling up in March, he "wanted to do something a bit different and politics was always something that interested me".
Jack McConnell, first minister, had also encouraged him to think of a political future, he said. "I was not thinking of going straight into politics because if I had I would have joined a party.
"I wanted to do something that was fulfilling and worthwhile. When the opportunity came along I thought I would recognise it. That's the way my life has always been."
Labour HQ will compile a shortlist of around five candidates tomorrow, and party members in Cathcart will choose among them on Friday.
If he wins the selection against heavyweights such as Charles Gordon, the ex-Glasgow council leader and Bill Miller, the ex-MEP, Mr Gill will then have to avoid making enemies in the executive.
Asked about cabinet ambitions, he was coy at first, then said: "I think every person should have ambition. If you don't have ambition you will never get anywhere in life. If you start off as a waiter, you want to be a manager or own your own business."
Mr Gill may also have to live down remarks made in 2001 when he discounted the idea of being a politician because he "didn't like to be answerable" to people. He told the Sunday Herald: "I hate being questioned about something I've done. If I was running the NHS, I'd hate people saying it was bad service or too many people on the waiting list." He said his character had changed since then."Life teaches you a lot of things," he said
The SNP and Tories accused Labour of panic over Cathcart when George Reid, presiding officer, announced the date after soundings with party leaders. It is understood Labour pressed for September 29 to coincide with the Livingston by-election to replace the late Robin Cook. Having both polls on the same day, at the end of Labour's annual conference, could help the party.
Alex Salmond, SNP leader, said the reduced timescale meant his party would now abandon its usual system of letting local party members pick a candidate. The national executive committee was likely to pick a name this week – a move which could prove as divisive for the SNP as Mr Gill's entry into the race for Labour.