Why a destroyer label could be easier to fund than a battlecruiser

Would a speculative battlecruiser or guided-missile destroyer design be more likely to receive consideration in Whitehall?

The destroyer, because a battlecruiser label was expected to invite funding cuts.

Two speculative warship designs are compared through the labels that would accompany a funding proposal. The guided-missile destroyer is judged more likely to receive consideration. Calling the alternative a battlecruiser was expected to provoke an immediate reaction against its funding. The judgment concerns the political reception of the category, with no detailed technical comparison offered.