Gerry Fitt: Political Chameleon

Gerry Fitt was a major protagonist for over twenty five years in Irish politics. When Fitt, a tough and resourceful political competitor, was elected MP for West Belfast in March 1966, commentators said: 'There was a crack in the Tory edifice when, like a breath of fresh air, Gerry Fitt came as a true Irish representative to Westminster.' Yet by the time of his death, he had lost his seat to Gerry Adams, needed a police guard to protect him from republicans and had become alienated from the very party he founded.
A campaigner for civil rights, a founder and leader of the SDLP, Fitt's political career took a seemingly remarkable volte face when this republican socialist ('Fenian Fitt') became a Peer of the Realm ('Fitt the Brit'). This biography chronicles the complex career of Gerry Fitt and attempts to shed light on the character of this political chameleon.