Hmm, just came back from a wiki & google dive.
Up to 2005, the Brit Navy had the 3 mini-carriers of the Invincible class, when Invincible was mothballed. These carriers could handle ~22 aircraft, 9 of which were fixed-wing Harrier/GR9 critters apiece. Get that: the entirety of Brit FW naval force projection was 27 sub-sonic VTOL aircraft to handle both strike and <giggle> air superiority missions.
But, it gets even better...since 2005 the Invincible has been withdrawn, so the Brits have 18 jump jets for force projection.
Wait, there's more...the Ark Royal is to be withdrawn in 2010 and the Illustrious in 2014.
Hold on, now, you haven't heard the kicker...the Brits have retired all the Harriers that could operate from the I-class carrier, so they now have one I-class carrier (until 2014) and zero FW aircraft to operate on it.
The new Brit carrier, the Queen Elizabeth is expected to come on line in the 2019-2023 time frame, will operate the F-35 Lightning II, and will be able to operate up to 40 aircraft (FW+RW).
10-14 years without any force-projection capability at all in the form of air strikes or even <giggle> air superiority.
For comparison sake, a Nimitz-class carrier can operate roughly 90 FW & RW (but usually is at ~64).
The French Charles de Gaulle operates 25-35 aircraft.
For the love of Pete, that is a sad state of affairs.