Whilst the through-deck cruisers are often portrayed as being 'sneaked through', I present the following facts
1963 - first trials of P1127 and Kestrel on RN ships - First Lord of the Admiralty was Peter Carington
1972 - HMS Eagle claimed too expensive to operate and scrapped - Sec Def. Peter Carington
1973 - first through-Deck cruiser officially ordered - Sec Def. Peter Carington
1982 - FCO cock-ups lead to Falklands War - Foreign Sec. Peter Carington resigns
He knew very well that the through deck-cruisers were a replacement for proper carriers, and that in a strategic sense scrapping them had been a failure.
p.s. Once had a senior USAF Officer tell me "If you guys had our aircraft, we'd still be a colony"