Why the Royal Navy needed more cruiser hulls

Were the York-class cruisers a fair trade-off, and should Britain have built more expensive light cruisers?

No. He would prefer more 6-inch cruisers, because the Royal Navy needed hull numbers and greater sustained firepower.

The York class and the wider Type B County compromise were poor answers to the Royal Navy's needs. The service required more cruiser hulls to cover its worldwide commitments, and expensive 8-inch ships could not provide enough of them. A twelve-gun 6-inch broadside also compares favourably with the six 8-inch guns carried by the smaller heavy-cruiser design. The lighter calibre could combine greater numbers of ships with a formidable volume of fire. Cruiser procurement had to provide operational coverage, with individual ship specifications serving that requirement.