A larger treaty light cruiser

What if the Washington Treaty limited light cruisers to 8,000 tons?

The whole treaty hierarchy would likely inflate rather than producing only larger light cruisers.

An 8,000-ton light-cruiser limit cannot sit beside an unchanged 10,000-ton heavy-cruiser ceiling. Preserving roughly the historical relationship between categories could push heavy cruisers toward about 16,000 tons. If capital ships retained a similar multiple over cruisers, battleship limits might rise toward 48,000 to 50,000 tons. Carrier limits would then also come under pressure, perhaps allowing ships around 35,000 tons so they could combine the speed and machinery needed to escape large cruisers. The exact figures illustrate the relationships rather than propose replacement treaty text. Naval-arms limits form an interconnected system, so enlarging a lower category changes design incentives throughout the fleet.