Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 15 June 1964.
Mr Stephen Swingler
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
12:00,
15 June 1964
Can we take it that the Foreign Secretary is not in favour of promoting trade in arms purely for commercial purposes? Does it follow, therefore, that approval to the supply of arms to Spain implies a measure of political consent and support to the régime there? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that such a measure would be utterly repugnant to the Majority of British people?
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.
