Fisher's mandate to cut the naval budget

Was Fisher appointed in order to cut the Royal Navy budget?

Yes. Fisher promised budget reductions as part of obtaining the post and carried them out.

Fisher obtained his position in part by promising to reduce the naval budget. He then carried out those cuts. That mandate supplies institutional context for decisions that cannot be explained only by a ship's technical merit. The Orlando class therefore has to be considered within the politics of naval spending as well as warship design.