Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Defence – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 3 May 1983.
Mr Winston Churchill
, Stretford
12:00,
3 May 1983
Does my hon. Friend agree that the liberation of Europe from Facism would have been impossible but for the American forces based in this country? Does he further agree that the overwhelming Majority of people in this country appreciate deeply what the United States is doing, and has done for the past 35 years, to maintain the peace and freedom of Great Britain and western Europe?
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.
