– in the House of Commons at on 9 December 1920.
Mr James Gilbert
, Southwark Central
asked the First Com missioner of Works how many depôts his Department has in London and for what goods they are used; and will he state if such buildings are the property of the Government or if any of them are only leased for permanent or temporary use.
Sir Alfred Mond
, Swansea West
There are 18 depots used for the storage of furniture and general stores; 5 coal depots and 39 small store-yards used for the storage of small stocks of building materials and ironmongery, fittings, etc. The Majority of the depots are Crown property, and the remainder are either requisitioned or held on lease.
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.
