"Since, most people seem to agree that you are only looking at a buy of about 50 aircraft now, you are only going to have about 24 jets, in peacetime, on the one operational Aircraft Carrier, no matter what aircraft UK buys. Except if they buy F35B the jets will, almost certainly be, RAF, not FAA, and you really will see an empty Carrier much of the time.
STOVL F35B may or may not work as advertised and may or may not get cancelled and may or may not be affordable, by UK. It is impossible to know these things now.
The fact is UK could go for about 50 Super Hornet and, UK would know, for a fact, A) they will actually do what its says on the tin. B) they will be delivered when UK wants them. C) they will cost more or less exactly what UK is told they will cost.
None of that is true of STOVL F35B.
Super Hornet is, relatively low cost and very low operational risk. F35B is high risk and might very well be very high cost. One is a certainty and the other a gamble."