Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Government Departments. – in the House of Commons at on 5 December 1939.
Mr William Craven-Ellis
, Southampton
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether he will take steps to encourage the demand for consumable goods so that the Majority of the 1,400,000 unemployed may find remunerative employment, and, as a result, increase the national income so that the maximum number of the public will have funds available to subscribe for national savings certificates and bonds?
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
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.
