Why Britain would reject ratios and naval equality

First Sea Lord John Fisher, First Lord Reginald McKenna, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, and the Crown all treated Royal Navy superiority as a foundation of British security. The Liberal government might welcome lower costs, but not at the price of political vulnerability or diminished maritime supremacy. The Treasury wanted four new ships and the Admiralty wanted six, but the 'We Want Eight' settlement authorized four plus four more if Germany laid down ships. German construction gave the Royal Navy all eight, showing how naval anxiety could enlarge a building program. Britain was also investing in professional education, the Greenwich naval war college, bases, and infrastructure for an oil-fuelled fleet, so restraint could affect far more than hull construction. Without the trauma of the First World War, neither ratios nor equality with another power offered an acceptable foundation for an agreement.