Unfortunately (for the UK I guess) they don’t want to accept an inferior product so they’ve been sticking with the F-35. If they thought the Typhoon and Rafale were superior they’d already have been going with them instead. Now they’re stuck with the decision “do we accept these restrictions because we REALLY want this aircraft or do we wait until the next generation of aircraft to get a stealth fighter?”

The F-35B is the only modern STOVL combat aircraft available and as such the sole alternative for the Fleet Air Arm as long as the MOD wants a STOVL for the CVF.
Also, the Typhoon is already selected for the RAF.

Yes the F-35 looks certain to be a very capable plane but I can surely understand that the UK, Israel and Norway will have a requirement to mount their own missiles. Missile procurement contracts are at a stake here and who is going to buy Pythons if the IAF isn’t? Sure the Israeli have successfully marketed the Spike ATGM in Europe as Gill with a German-registered firm but I don’t see any room in the European AAM market for any more missiles.