Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 6 December 1920.
Sir William Davison
, Kensington South
Does not my right hon. Friend consider that a very serious position has now arisen, in that the Majority of the union have expressed their desire to form a striking union with a strike fund, and, having regard to the fact that the Government forbade the Police Force to form a striking union, does he not think it is high time for the Government to take some action.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
