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John Nott, Secretary of State for Defence, 1981–3

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Managing Britain’s Defence
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Abstract

John Nott, Secretary of State for Defence from 1981 to 1983, nearly succeeded where his predecessors had failed, or not tried, in both further centralising the central defence organisation and conducting a defence review. Nott was appointed with the full support of the Prime Minister. Unlike his predecessor Nott was in total agreement with the Prime Minister on the need for cash limit controls on government spending and, unlike Pym, Nott had experience as an economics minister.

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Notes and References

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  3. John Nott, ‘Pounds, Shillings and Defence’, Analysis, BBC R4, 19 June 1985.

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  5. John Nott had previously held the offices of: Minister of State Treasury 1972–75, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 1979–81.

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  6. Elinor Goodman, ‘Pym Rejects £500m cut in Defence’ The Times, 29 October 1980.

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© 1990 Malcolm McIntosh

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McIntosh, M. (1990). John Nott, Secretary of State for Defence, 1981–3. In: Managing Britain’s Defence. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10535-9_4

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