Specialist escorts versus the Dido compromise

Would Britain be better served by specialist destroyers and cruisers rather than Dido trying to combine air defense and surface action?

Yes if enough specialist ships could be built, though Dido remained a sound concept that mainly needed a somewhat larger hull.

Specialized ships can divide antiaircraft and surface tasks effectively when procurement delivers enough hulls in each category. The Dido concept is not rejected; its shortcomings are tied to insufficient beam and length rather than the attempt to combine roles itself.