Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Transport. – in the House of Commons at on 6 July 1925.
Lieut-Colonel Wilfrid Ashley
, New Forest and Christchurch
I think the hon. Member has been misinformed as to the terms of the Report of the Police Committee to which he refers. The Majority of the members were of opinion that the existing powers under Section 1 (1) of the Motor Car Act, 1903, were sufficient to enable the police to deal with the matter. I have no power to issue Regulations of the character suggested, and it would require legislation to enable me to do so. As I have stated in answer to previous questions on the same point, I am not satisfied that such legislation is desirable.
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.
