The RN was very interested in F-14s to replace the RAF's F-4s in the TASMO(AD) role. The fact that they didn't come out of the RN's budget, and that the RN didn't have to find pilots or ground crew, may have led to them being rather more enthusiastic than they might otherwise have been.
Cost wasn't the only objection to the F-14. IIRC, and interestingly given recent discussion in another thread, there were concerns that the AWG-9's ECCM capability wasn't adequate.
I'm not convinced the Spey would be as much of an improvement over the TF30 as people think. Possibly some improvement, but fundamentally it's replacing a bomber engine from the mid-1960s with an airliner engine from the mid-1960s.
An F-14 with British engines, AI.24 and Skyflash is interesting, but at that point can you really pretend you're saving money?
When the straight-through Pegasus was actually proposed, as the RB.431, it was about 15,850 lbf dry and 28,030 lbf in reheat. It found its way into the HS.1202 studies, some of which looked a bit like a British F-16.
