Sir John William Frederic Nott (1 February 1932 – 6 November 2024) was a British politician who served as
Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
from 1981 to 1983 (during the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
). A member of the
National Liberal (until 1968) and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
parties, Nott served as
Member of Parliament (MP) for
St Ives from 1966 to 1983.
Early life
Nott was born in
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
, south-east London (part of Kent until 1965), to Richard Nott, a rice broker from a military family, and Phyllis Francis,
and was educated at
Bradfield College.
In 1952 he was commissioned as a regular officer in the
2nd Gurkha Rifles, serving in the
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...
after a period of service with the
Royal Scots
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...
. In 1956 he left the army to study
law and economics
Law and economics, or economic analysis of law, is the application of microeconomic theory to the analysis of law. The field emerged in the United States during the early 1960s, primarily from the work of scholars from the Chicago school of econ ...
at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, where he was president of the
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the ...
. He was
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
at the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...
in 1959.
Career
Early parliamentary career
In 1966 Nott was elected as a
National Liberal and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP for the
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
constituency of
St Ives, the last person elected under the National Liberal label. The party was formally absorbed into the Conservatives in 1968, after which Nott sat as a Conservative MP. He was the last surviving former National Liberal MP.
In 1968 he was one of the few MPs to vote against the
Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968, thinking it "disgraceful that people who had British passports should have them taken away".
Ministerial career
Nott served in the government of
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
as
Minister of State at the Treasury.
After a brief spell working as a
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
consultant and focusing on managing his Cornish estate, where he grew flowers commercially, he joined the
Shadow Cabinet in 1976.
He was made
Secretary of State for Trade
The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business and Trade. The incumb ...
after
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
won the
1979 general election and became a
privy councillor. The
Department of Trade was responsible for shipping and aviation and the
privatisation
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
, the first privatisation of the
Thatcher government. Overseeing the
Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, Nott was also responsible for repealing the
prices and incomes policy and played a leading role in the abolition of
exchange control.
In the January 1981 reshuffle, Nott became
Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
. Short-term commitment to cost savings meant that defence decisions were made based on affordability at the expense of naval husbandry since prior to the
Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982, the government had been unwilling to consider such a strategic risk. Time was of the essence and, by prioritising reduced public spending, the government acknowledged the more immediate risk of national bankruptcy against the less pressing strategic analysis of another war. Nott was widely criticised by
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
chiefs over the
1981 Defence White Paper
The 1981 Defence White Paper (titled "The UK Defence Programme: The Way Forward") was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy brought about by the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government under the Prime Minister Margaret Tha ...
for his decision to cut back on forward government naval expenditure during the severe
economic recession of the early 1980s; the reductions originally included the proposed scrapping of the Antarctic patrol ship and the reduction of the
surface fleet to 50 frigates and from three to two aircraft carriers. He switched the resultant savings to
nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed.
Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...
s,
naval weapon systems and
air defence
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
. He famously walked out of an interview with
Robin Day during the 1982 Conservative Party conference after Day referred to him as a "here today, gone tomorrow politician", although he retained a sense of humour about the incident, later naming his memoir ''Here Today, Gone Tomorrow''.
In his white paper Command 8758 "The Falkland Campaign: The Lessons", Nott announced a major rebuilding programme costing around £1 billion to replace all the ships,
Harrier aircraft and helicopters lost during the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, including the building of five new
Type 22 frigates. He also closed
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
and ended the mid-life modernisation of old frigates. He took through Parliament the upgrading of the
nuclear deterrent
Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons.
As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...
to the current
Trident system (D5).
Resignation
Nott offered his resignation to Thatcher following the Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982. Unlike the Foreign Secretary,
Lord Carrington, however, his resignation was not accepted. Nott remained as defence secretary throughout the four-month conflict. He was eventually replaced in January 1983 by
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...
after he decided not to seek re-election at the
1983 general election. On retirement he was appointed a
knight commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(KCB).
Business career
From 1985 to 1989 Nott was chairman and chief executive of
Lazard Brothers. This coincided with the
cabinet crisis
A cabinet crisis, government crisis or political crisis refers to a situation where an incumbent government is unable to form or function, is toppled through an uprising, or collapses. Political crises may correspond with, cause or be caused by a ...
on the future of
Westland Helicopters, which severely rocked the Thatcher government. Lazard Brothers acted for Westland against Michael Heseltine's proposal for a European consortium. Among the other well-publicised events that occurred while Nott was at Lazard was the takeover of
Guinness
Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...
. He also served as chairman of
Hillsdown Holdings, a multinational food company, and of the Canadian firm
Maple Leaf Foods, and was deputy of
Royal Insurance. In addition, he was an adviser to
APAX Partners
Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of March 2024, the firm had raised and adv ...
and
Freshfields.
Books
Nott published his autobiography, ''Here Today, Gone Tomorrow'', in 2002. Other works include: ''Mr Wonderful Takes a Cruise'' (2004), ''Haven't We Been Here Before'' (2007), ''Mr Wonderful Seeks Immortality'' (2014) and ''Memorable Encounters'' (2018).
Personal life
In 1959 Nott married
Miloska Sekol, whom he met at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.
They had two sons (including the film composer
Julian Nott) and a daughter,
Sasha.
He was a
supporter of Brexit. In 2016 he had criticised the "poisoned EU debate" in the Conservative Party and suspended his party membership until there was a change of leadership.
Nott spent much of his retirement restoring his farm in Cornwall. He died on 6 November 2024, at the age of 92.
At the time of his death, he,
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
and
Malcolm Rifkind
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...
were the only surviving members of the Thatcher cabinet not sitting in either house of Parliament.
In popular culture
Nott was interviewed about the rise of
Thatcherism
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...
for the 2006
BBC TV documentary series ''
Tory! Tory! Tory!''.
He was portrayed by
Clive Merrison in the 2002 BBC production of
Ian Curteis's controversial ''
The Falklands Play'', and by
Angus Wright in the film ''
The Iron Lady''.
Published works
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See also
*
"Rejoice", a 1982 remark made by Margaret Thatcher following a statement read by Nott
References
Works cited
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Further reading
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External links
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Thatcher's Class of '79
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nott, John
1932 births
2024 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency
British Eurosceptics
British people of the Falklands War
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
English autobiographers
English historians
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for St Ives
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
John
People educated at Bradfield College
People from St Erth
Politicians from Bideford
Presidents of the Board of Trade
Presidents of the Cambridge Union
Royal Gurkha Rifles officers
Royal Scots officers
Secretaries of State for Defence (UK)
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1979–1983
Place of death missing