The best 1960s Royal Navy program starts in the 1940s

What was the optimum Royal Navy program for the 1960s given Britain's economy and priorities?

Build the Malta carriers in the late 1940s or early 1950s, then use the 1960s for a steady, affordable escort program.

The preferred 1960s program depends on an earlier decision to build the Malta carriers in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Those ships would give the Royal Navy a renewed carrier force before later replacement became harder to secure. The 1960s budget could then support a steady rate of escort construction without also financing new capital ships. Delaying carrier renewal after the Second World War made that combination increasingly difficult to achieve.