– in the House of Commons at on 6 May 1937.
Sir Patrick Donner
, Basingstoke
asked the Minister of Transport whether his attention has been drawn to the use of main roads by bicyclists where separate tracks have been constructed for their special benefit and to the extent of such misuse, particularly on the Great West Road and the Western Avenue; and whether, consequently, he will take suitable measures to discourage bicyclists in this respect?
Sir Austin Hudson
, Hackney North
These tracks were constructed for the special convenience of cyclists, in order that they might travel free from constant apprehension and anxiety, and also in fulfilment of the principle that there should be different tracks for different classes of vehicles travelling at different speeds and by different methods of propulsion. Observation shows that these tracks are appreciated by the overwhelming Majority of cyclists, and my right hon. Friend hopes that the minority will, to the general and individual advantage of all road users, use the facilities provided.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
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.
