View source for John Nott

{{Short description|British politician (1932–2024)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Sir John Nott
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB}}
| image               = John Nott 02.jpg
| caption             = Nott in 1982
| office              = [[Secretary of State for Defence]]
| primeminister       = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start          = 5 January 1981
| term_end            = 6 January 1983
| predecessor         = [[Francis Pym]]
| successor           = [[Michael Heseltine]]
| office1             = {{ubl|[[Secretary of State for Trade]]|[[President of the Board of Trade]]}}
| primeminister1      = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start1         = 4 May 1979
| term_end1           = 5 January 1981
| predecessor1        = [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]]
| successor1          = [[John Biffen]]
| parliament2         = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP2    = [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]]
| term_start2         = 31 March 1966
| term_end2           = 13 May 1983
| predecessor2        = [[Greville Howard (St Ives MP)|Greville Howard]]
| successor2          = [[David Harris (British politician)|David Harris]]
| birth_name          = John William Frederic Nott
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1932|2|1|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Bromley]], Kent, England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2024|11|6|1932|2|1|df=y}}
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] (until 2016)
| otherparty          = [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal Party]] (1966–1968)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Miloska Nott|Miloska Sekol]]|1959}}
| children            = 3, including [[Julian Nott|Julian]] and [[Sasha Swire|Sasha]]
| education           = [[Bradfield College]]
| alma_mater          = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
<!--Military service-->
| branch              = [[British Army]]
| branch_label        = Branch
| serviceyears        = 1952–1956
| serviceyears_label  = Service&nbsp;years
| rank                = [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]]
| unit                = [[2nd Gurkha Rifles]]
}}

'''Sir John William Frederic Nott''' (1 February 1932 – 6 November 2024) was a British politician who served as [[Secretary of State for Defence]] from 1981 to 1983 (during the [[Falklands War]]). A member of the [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal]] (until 1968) and [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] parties, Nott served as [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]] from 1966 to 1983.

== Early life ==
Nott was born in [[Bromley]], south-east London (part of Kent until 1965), to Richard Nott, a rice broker from a military family, and Phyllis Francis,<ref name="Bates-2024" /> 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]] after a period of service with the [[Royal Scots]]. In 1956 he left the army to study [[law and economics]] at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], where he was president of the [[Cambridge Union Society]]. He was [[called to the bar]] at the [[Inner Temple]] in 1959.<ref name="ArchiveSearch" /><ref name="The Times-2024" /><ref name="BBC News-2024" />

== Career ==
=== Early parliamentary career ===
In 1966 Nott was elected as a [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal]] and [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP for the [[Cornwall]] constituency of [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|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.<ref name="ArchiveSearch" /><ref name="The Times-2024" />

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".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lattimer |first1=Mark |title=When Labour played the racist card |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/when-labour-played-racist-card |website=New Statesman |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905192357/https://www.newstatesman.com/when-labour-played-racist-card |archive-date=5 September 2015 |date=22 January 1999 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref>

=== Ministerial career ===
Nott served in the government of [[Edward Heath]] as [[Minister of State at the Treasury]].<ref name="ArchiveSearch" /> After a brief spell working as a [[City of London]] consultant and focusing on managing his Cornish estate, where he grew flowers commercially, he joined the [[Shadow Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher|Shadow Cabinet]] in 1976.<ref name="Bates-2024" /> He was made [[Secretary of State for Trade]] after [[Margaret Thatcher]] won the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]] and became a [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|privy councillor]]. The [[Department of Trade]] was responsible for shipping and aviation and the [[privatisation]] of [[British Airways]], the first privatisation of the [[First Thatcher ministry|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]].<ref name="ArchiveSearch" />

In the January 1981 reshuffle, Nott became [[Secretary of State for Defence]]. 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.{{sfn|Bennett|2016|p=177}} Nott was widely criticised by [[Royal Navy]] chiefs over the [[1981 Defence White Paper]] for his decision to cut back on forward government naval expenditure during the severe [[Early 1980s recession|economic recession of the early 1980s]]; the reductions originally included the proposed scrapping of the Antarctic patrol ship {{HMS|Endurance|1967|6}} 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]]s, [[naval weapon]] systems and [[air defence]].{{sfn|O'Brien|2013|page=197}} 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''.<ref name="BBC News-2024" /><ref>{{Cite interview |last=Nott |first=John |interviewer=[[Robin Day]] |title=Walks out of interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln3SpXXYTHY |access-date=16 June 2011 |work=[[Newsnight]] |via=YouTube |place=Brighton |date=October 1982}}</ref>

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 jump jet|Harrier]] aircraft and helicopters lost during the [[Falklands War]], including the building of five new [[Type 22 frigates]]. He also closed [[Chatham Dockyard]] and ended the mid-life modernisation of old frigates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Chris |date=11 July 2020 |title=Fading down the river: How the closure of Chatham Dockyard ended a 400 year story |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/the-400-year-old-kent-dockyard-which-employed-10-000-230213/ |access-date=8 November 2024 |website=Kent Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Feron |first=James |date=8 July 1982 |title=War prods British into military changes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/08/world/war-prods-british-into-military-changes.html |access-date=8 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> He took through Parliament the upgrading of the [[nuclear deterrent]] to the current [[Trident system]] (D5).<ref name="The Telegraph-2024" />

=== 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]] after he decided not to seek re-election at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]]. On retirement he was appointed a [[knight commander of the Order of the Bath]] (KCB).<ref name="ArchiveSearch" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr John Nott (Hansard)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-john-nott/index.html|access-date=10 May 2021|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom}}</ref>

=== Business career ===
From 1985 to 1989 Nott was chairman and chief executive of [[Lazard Brothers]].{{sfn|Cohan|2008}}{{page needed|date=December 2024}} This coincided with the [[Westland affair|cabinet crisis]] 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]]. 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]] and [[Freshfields]].<ref name="Bates-2024" /><ref name="The Telegraph-2024">{{Cite web |date=7 November 2024 |title=Sir John Nott, radical Tory individualist and Defence Secretary during the Falklands War |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/11/07/sir-john-nott-defence-secretary-falklands-war-thatcher-tory/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 November 2024 |website=The Telegraph}}</ref>

=== Books ===
Nott published his autobiography, ''Here Today, Gone Tomorrow'', in 2002.{{sfn|Nott|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).{{sfnm|Nott|2004|Nott|2007|Nott|2014|Nott|2018}}

== Personal life ==
In 1959 Nott married [[Miloska Nott|Miloska Sekol]], whom he met at the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref name="ArchiveSearch" /> They had two sons (including the film composer [[Julian Nott]]) and a daughter, [[Sasha Swire|Sasha]].<ref name="The Times-2024" /><ref name="BBC News-2024" />

He was a [[Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom|supporter of Brexit]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Albert |title=Boris Johnson backer claims candidate wants a no-deal Brexit |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-brexit-negotiations-no-deal-tory-leadership-contest-john-nott-sky-news-305710 |access-date=14 November 2020 |website=[[i (British newspaper)|i]] |date=24 June 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dominiczak |first=Peter |date=8 June 2016 |title=Margaret Thatcher's defence secretary Sir John Nott suspends Tory membership because of 'poisonous' EU campaign |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/08/margaret-thatchers-defence-secretary-sir-john-nott-suspends-tory/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608222812/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/08/margaret-thatchers-defence-secretary-sir-john-nott-suspends-tory/ |archive-date=8 June 2016 |access-date=14 November 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

Nott spent much of his retirement restoring his {{Convert|200|acre|ha|adj=on}} farm in Cornwall. He died on 6 November 2024, at the age of 92.<ref name="The Times-2024" />

At the time of his death, he, [[John Major]] and [[Malcolm Rifkind]] were the only surviving members of the Thatcher cabinet not sitting in either house of Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/26/john-major-aid-cuts-and-trump-xi-national-self-interest |title=John Major: Aid cuts and Trump-Xi ‘national self-interest’ |website=The Guardian |date=26 June 2025 |access-date=31 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rusi.org/people/rifkind-kcmg-kc |title=Sir Malcolm Rifkind |website=Royal United Services Institute |access-date=31 August 2025}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Nott was interviewed about the rise of [[Thatcherism]] for the 2006 [[BBC TV]] documentary series ''[[Tory! Tory! Tory!]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907294/ |title=Tory! Tory! Tory! |date=2006-03-08 |type=Documentary |publisher=Mentorn |others=Gwynne, Haydn; Jenkins, Simon; Williams, Shirley |access-date=2024-12-26 |via=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>

He was portrayed by [[Clive Merrison]] in the 2002 BBC production of [[Ian Curteis]]'s controversial ''[[The Falklands Play]]'',<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315579/ |title=The Falklands Play |date=2002-04-10 |last=Samuels |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Samuels (director) |type=Drama, War |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |others=Hodge, Patricia; Fox, James; Standing, John |access-date=2024-12-26 |via=IMDb}}</ref> and by [[Angus Wright (actor)|Angus Wright]] in the film ''[[The Iron Lady (film)|The Iron Lady]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Iron Lady (2012) |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4bb54a06139 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112145727/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4bb54a06139 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref>

== Published works ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nott |first=John |url={{GBurl|id=Asp5AAAAIAAJ}} |title=Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Recollections of an Errant Politician |publisher=Politico's |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-84275-030-8 |author-mask=1 |url-access=limited}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nott |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/mrwonderfultakes0000nott |title=Mr Wonderful Takes a Cruise: The Adventures of an Old Age Pensioner |date=2004 |publisher=Ebury |isbn=978-0-09-189834-2 |location=London |author-mask=1 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nott |first=John |title=Haven't We Been Here Before |date=2007 |publisher=Discovered Authors |isbn=978-1-905108-49-7 |author-mask=1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nott |first=Sir John |title=Mr Wonderful Seeks Immortality |date=2014 |publisher=SilverWood Books |isbn=978-1-78132-198-0 |author-mask=1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nott |first=John |title=Memorable Encounters |date=2018 |publisher=Pen & Sword Politics |isbn=978-1-5267-5115-7 |author-mask=1}}
{{refend}}

== See also ==
{{Pbox|Cornwall}}
* [[Rejoice (Margaret Thatcher)|"Rejoice"]], a 1982 remark made by Margaret Thatcher following a statement read by Nott

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="ArchiveSearch">{{Cite web |title=Collection: The Papers of Sir John Nott |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/9/resources/1744 |access-date=18 December 2024 |website=ArchiveSearch |publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref><ref name="The Times-2024">{{cite web |title=Sir John Nott obituary: Sharp-tongued defence secretary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/sir-john-nott-obituary-sharp-tongued-defence-secretary-k5b978nkm |website=The Times |access-date=7 November 2024 |date=6 November 2024 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="BBC News-2024">{{cite news |title=Former Defence Secretary John Nott dies aged 92 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwygr73kg68o |access-date=7 November 2024 |work=BBC News |date=7 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="Bates-2024">{{Cite news|last=Bates|first=Stephen|date=2024-11-07|title=Sir John Nott obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/07/sir-john-nott-obituary|access-date=2024-12-18|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
}}

=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
  | last1      = Bennett
  | first1     = G. H.
  | title      = The Royal Navy in the Age of Austerity 1919–22: Naval and Foreign Policy under Lloyd George
  | date       = 2016
  | publisher  = Bloomsbury Publishing
  | isbn       = 978-1-4742-6839-4
  | url        = {{GBurl|id=GlESDQAAQBAJ}}
  | url-access = limited
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1      = Cohan
  | first1     = William D.
  | title      = The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.
  | date       = 2008
  | publisher  = Penguin Books Limited
  | isbn       = 978-0-14-191683-5
  | url        = {{GBurl|id=8jT0_Wn-HGcC}}
  | url-access = limited
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1        = O'Brien
  | first1       = Phillips Payson
  | author1-link = Phillips O'Brien
  | title        = Technology and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century and Beyond
  | date         = 2013
  | publisher    = Routledge
  | isbn         = 978-1-136-33560-0
  | url          = {{GBurl|id=cfgrBgAAQBAJ}}
  | url-access   = limited
  }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tyrrell |first=Stephen |url=https://archive.org/details/trewinnardcornis0000tyrr |title=Trewinnard: A Cornish History |date=2012 |publisher=Pasticcio Ltd. |others=Introduction: John Nott |isbn=978-0-9555511-9-2 |location=England |ref=none |url-access=registration}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* {{IMDb name|1652359}}
* {{NPG name}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-john-nott | John Nott }}
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk_politics/04/thatchers_government/html/nott.stm Thatcher's Class of '79]

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{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]]|years=[[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966]]–[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[David Harris (British politician)|David Harris]]}}
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{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|before=[[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Trade]]|years=1979–1981}}
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{{S-bef|before=[[Francis Pym]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Defence]]|years=1981–1983}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Michael Heseltine]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Secretary of State for Defence}}
{{Presidents of the Board of Trade}}
{{Thatcher Ministry}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nott, John}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency]]
[[Category:British Eurosceptics]]
[[Category:British people of the Falklands War]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]
[[Category:English historians]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for St Ives]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Nott family|John]]
[[Category:People educated at Bradfield College]]
[[Category:People from St Erth]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bideford]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Board of Trade]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Cambridge Union]]
[[Category:Royal Gurkha Rifles officers]]
[[Category:Royal Scots officers]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for defence (UK)]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]