Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Southern Rhodesia – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 30 January 1964.
Mr Fenner Brockway
, Eton and Slough
12:00,
30 January 1964
I appreciate that, but is it not desirable that as a result of these discussions the Government should now declare their intention in relation to Southern Rhodesia? Is there not great danger in allowing the situation to drift on? Is it not important that we should make clear that sovereignty for Southern Rhodesia will not be recognised until a Majority of the population has the right to control the Parliament and the Government?
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.
