Oral Answers to Questions — Awards to Widows (Damages)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 23 March 1964.

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Photo of Sir John Hobson Sir John Hobson , Warwick and Leamington 12:00, 23 March 1964

A large number of measures for the reform of the law have been introduced while this Government have been in power, and particularly during this Session. Coming down to the details, this is a difficult question, as I recognise. But if a widow has already remarried someone who is better off one would not expect that that fact should not be taken into account; and if she were about to marry someone better off I think that that fact must also be taken into account; and if there is an expectation that she will marry someone who is better off that is also something which the courts have to consider. In any case, I think it is generally recognised that judges deal with these difficult cases with delicacy and good judgment in the vast Majority of cases.

majority

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.