About John Nott
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 (until 1968) and Conservative parties, Nott served as Member of Parliament (MP) for 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, 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. == Career == === Early parliamentary career === In 1966 Nott was elected as a National Liberal and Conservative MP for the Cornwall 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 as Minister of State at the Treasury. 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 in 1976.
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