For proudfishead: I thought fisheads were ship drivers, not avaitors.
Oh well, I tip my cap, one naval aviator (retired) to another.
In re the CV, it takes two to have one, and your industrial base (maritime) gets a few economies of scale benefit from having two versus one ... if one can afford it. <--- As you are well aware, that's the real beast of the issue.
I am out of touch with our continental friends, the French, who not only have a CV, but also chose to rejoin the NATO integrated command structure. Would your position be sound if your strat assumed a long term association with the French wherein you traded readiness phases (rotating "on call" so to speak within the European security realm), or is the global interest of the UK deep enough (still) to require the two in case an out of area requirement rears its ugly head ... I have an eye toward the South Atlantic, but hope to hell that doesn't come up again.