Oral Answers to Questions — Civil Aviation – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 2 April 1947.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
12:00,
2 April 1947
asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, whether he has any statement to make on the formation of an Anglo-U.S.-Greek company to operate internal and external Greek air services.
Mr Alan Lennox-Boyd
, Mid Bedfordshire
asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation the names of the British, U.S. and Greek companies together forming the new company to operate Greek air lines.
Mr George Lindgren
, Wellingborough
Negotiations have been proceeding for some time between British European Airways Corporation, Trans-World Airlines, the National Bank of Greece and other Greek interests for the formation of a new Greek company to operate air services in and from Greece. It is proposed that the Greek interests shall have a Majority holding, the minority holding being shared equally by British European Airways and Trans-World Airlines. Negotiations have reached an advanced stage, but the new company has not yet been formed.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
Will the hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that everything will be done to see that the Americans do not take the whole of this market up by supplying their own aircraft, and that we get our fair share?
Mr George Lindgren
, Wellingborough
In actual fact, the company which this agreement will supersede have already on order British aircraft.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
Good. Keep it up.
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.