Treaty strength and Churchill's construction pause

The nominal treaty equality of Britain and the United States did not automatically produce equal fleets because Congress often declined to fund the full American allowance. British planners consciously relied on this political constraint during much of the interwar period. Churchill then paused capital-ship, carrier, and cruiser construction after war began even though the escort programme was already in motion. The criticism is that a pause scatters skilled workers and invites redesign, so restarting a nearly complete ship is more difficult than resuming from the same point.