– in the House of Commons at on 11 March 1935.
Sir Wilfred Sugden
, Leyton West
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the number of convictions against taximeter-cab drivers in London during the last three years, whether he will consider the question of the system of licensing now in operation with a view to adjusting the personnel in this industry without inconveniencing the public and yet acting in equity to the taximeter-cab drivers as a body?
Mr John Gilmour
, Glasgow Pollok
I am not quite clear what aspect of this problem my hon. Friend desires to bring to my notice, but if he will be good enough to give me further particulars, I shall be glad to consider them. If, however, he is suggesting that there is an excessive number of licensed drivers, I ought to point out that there is no power under the existing law to limit either the number of licensed cabs or the number of licensed drivers.
Sir Wilfred Sugden
, Leyton West
While thanking my right hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask whether he is aware that when a statutory regulation is broken by the Majority of people for whom it is enacted, they will require a new enactment, and does he not think the time has now arrived for that?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
