Could Britain have waited out the American naval programme?

Could Britain have secured a more favourable naval treaty by waiting longer to negotiate with the United States?

Possibly, because congressional funding for the American building programme might have dried up before negotiations resumed.

Treaty timing depended on domestic politics as well as shipyard capacity. By 1924 or 1925, an anti-spending Congress might have allowed much of the United States Navy construction programme to collapse. Britain could then have negotiated from a stronger material position, although a Roosevelt-style pro-navy coalition would change the calculation. Appropriations and elections could shape the nominal balance established by naval treaties.