Naval treaty policy was a cross-party choice

Which British politicians should be blamed for interwar naval treaties and declining shipbuilding capacity?

Responsibility was collective: Labour strongly supported the 1930 London Treaty, while Conservative governments had accepted the Washington framework.

The treaty system survived changes of government because several parties accepted its financial and diplomatic logic. Conservative governments participated in the Washington settlement, while Labour supported the 1930 London Treaty that continued the framework. Each decision reinforced limits on new construction and the industrial base that supported it. The loss of capacity was a collective policy outcome rather than the work of one minister or party.