Abstract
The January 1981 Cabinet reshuffle was Thatcher’s only attempt at putting one of her inner circle in a position to try and exert control over the MOD.306 Both Thatcher and Howe considered that Nott, with his experience as a former Gurkha officer and his firm commitment to Conservative monetarist policies, would be able to achieve the twin goals of improving the capabilities of Britain’s armed forces at a reduced cost.307 Nott shared the belief of the Thatcherite wing of the Conservative Party that capabilities could be improved without necessarily increasing the defence budget by introducing greater efficiency and more rigorous prioritization. He believed that the way in which the MOD functioned and the problem of inter-service rivalry severely impacted upon the defence planning process and led to sub-optimization in decision-making.308
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Notes
Nott ‘was one of a small group of ministers who breakfasted with the new Prime Minister very regularly during our first two years in office and was regarded throughout the government as a possible future Chancellor of the Exchequer’. Cecil Parkinson, Right at the Centre (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1992), p. 149; Clark, p. 138.
David Fairhall, ‘The Battle of the Cuts’, Guardian, 7 January 1981.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 997, fifth series, session 1980–81, 19–30 January 1981, statement 20 January 1981, col. 152.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 7, sixth series, session 1980–81, 22 June-3 July 1981, Defence Statement 25 June 1981, col. 386.
David C. Isby and Charles Hamps Jnr, Armies of NATO’s Central Front (London: Jane’s, 1985), p. 241.
Philip Goodhart, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 2, sixth series, session 1980–81, 30 March-10 April 1981, written answer 1 April 1981, col. 123w;
Keith Speed, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 2, sixth series, session 1980–81, 30 March-10 April 1981, written answer 1 April 1981, col. 124w; John Nott, House of Commons Defence Committee, ‘Second Report — Statement on the Defence Estimates, 1981’, HC. 302, session 1980–81, London, HMSO, Minutes of Evidence 30 April 1981, p. 56.
Wettern, p. 386; Pattie announced that the plan to buy five 909 radars would be reduced to one. Each Type 42 destroyer had two of these radars to guide its Sea Dart system. Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 16, sixth series, session 1981–82, 18–29 January 1982, oral answer 26 January 1982, col. 732.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 7, sixth series, session 1980–81, 22 June-3 July 1981, Defence Statement 25 June 1981, col. 394.
The refit of HMS Swiftsure was due to begin in February 1979 but did not actually start until April 1980. Philip Goodhart, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 7, sixth series, session 1980–81, 22 June-3 July 1981, written answer 25 June 1981, col. 162; Grove, p. 352.
David Fairhall, ‘New “Cut-Price” Frigate Part of Arms Plan for Decade’, Guardian, 17 March 1981.
Philip Goodhart, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 8, sixth series, session 1980–81, 6–17 July 1981, written answer 7 July 1981, col. 121w.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 7, sixth series, session 1980–81, 22 June-3 July 1981, Defence Statement 25 June 1981, col. 386.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 8, sixth series, session 1980–81, 6–17 July 1981, written answer 7 July 1981, col. 119w.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 26, sixth series, session 1981–82, 21 June-2 July 1982, oral answer 29 June 1982, col. 737.
Cole, p. 256; Howe, p. 223; Nigel, Lawson The View from No. 11: Memoirs of a Tory Radical (London: Bantam, 1992), p. 108; Thatcher, p. 149.
Margaret Thatcher, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 19, sixth series, session 1981–82, 1–12 March 1982, written answer 4 March 1982, col. 195w.
Private discussion; John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 19, sixth series, session 1981–82, 1–12 March 1982, written answer 8 March 1982, col. 327w; McIntosh, p. 123.
Private discussion; John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 19, sixth series, session 1981–82, 1–12 March 1982, written answer 8 March 1982, col. 327w; McIntosh, p. 123.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 18, sixth series, session 1981–82, 15–26 February 1982, oral answer 23 February 1982, col. 737;
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 19, sixth series, session 1981–82, 1–12 March 1982, Statement on the Trident Missile Programme 11 March 1982, col. 975.
Jerry Wiggin, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 13, sixth series, session 1981–82, 16–27 November 1981, written answer 23 November 1981, col. 311w.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 19, sixth series, session 1981–82, 1–12 March 1982, Statement on Reserve Forces 3 March 1982, col. 273.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 16, sixth series, session 1981–82, written answer 21 January 1982, col. 160w.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 19, sixth series, session 1981–82, 1–12 March 1982, written answer 8 March 1982, col. 328w.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 24, sixth series, session 1981–82, 17–28 May 1982, written answer 17 May 1982, col. 47w.
Lieutenant-General Sir Maurice Johnston, ‘More Power to the Centre: MOD Reorganization’, RUSI Journal, vol. 128, no. 1, March 1983, p. 7.
See David Brown, Royal Navy and the Falklands War: the Epic, True Story (London, Arrow Books, 1989).
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 26, sixth series, session 1981–82, 21 June-2 July 1982, Debate on the Defence Estimates 1 July 1982, col. 1063.
Peter Blaker, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 28, sixth series, session 1981–82, 19–30 July 1982, Debate on the Royal Navy 19 July 1982, cols. 44–5.
Julian Haviland, ‘Nott’s Farewell Present to Services Cheers Tories’, The Times, 15 December 1982.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 28, sixth series, session 1981–82, 19–30 July 1982, Debate on the Royal Navy 19 July 1982, col. 110.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 26, sixth series, session 1981–82, 21 June-2 July 1982, Debate on the Defence Estimates 1 July 1982, col. 1065.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 34, sixth series, session 1982–83, 13–23 December 1982, Debate on the Falkland Islands White Paper 14 December 1982, col. 128.
John Nott, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 34, sixth series, session 1982–83, 13–23 December 1982, Debate on the Falkland Islands White Paper 14 December 1982, col. 129.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 28, sixth series, session 1981–82, 19–30 July 1982, written answer 27 July 1982, col. 424w.
Geoffrey Pattie, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, vol. 34, sixth series, session 1981–82, 13–23 December 1982, oral answer 14 December 1982, col. 114.
See Alan Clark, Diaries: Into Politics, edited by Ion Trewin (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2000).
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Dorman, A.M. (2002). John Nott, January 1981-January 1983. In: Defence under Thatcher. Southampton Studies in International Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403932853_4
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