Why County names can protect a cruiser program

How likely is it that a Hawkins-class follow-on would have been called the County class from the start?

Quite plausible, because town and county names created constituencies that helped protect large ship orders.

The Royal Navy repeatedly used town and county names when it wanted a class in substantial numbers. A named locality creates a constituency that can identify with its ship. That political attachment makes cancellation more awkward than cutting an anonymous program. A Hawkins follow-on could therefore become the County class from the start for procurement reasons as well as naming continuity.