Could Britain have replaced the R-class before 1939?

Could the R-class battleships have been replaced before the Second World War, and could Britain afford it?

Yes; if treaty conditions allowed replacement, Britain had the resources and could probably have begun in the mid-1930s.

The binding issue was permission and policy rather than an absolute lack of national capacity. Britain had the money and resources to replace the R-class, and a program could probably have started around the middle of the 1930s if the treaty framework allowed it.