How much do you know about United Kingdom politics [and history]

[Phony Moderate]

GENERAL

1 - Who is the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? What party are they from?

David Cameron, Conservative Party.

2 - Name the two houses of the British Parliament.

House of Commons and House of Lords.

3 - Who is the current Leader of the Opposition and what party is he from?

Ed Miliband, Labour Party.

4 - What parties make up the current government?

Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats.

5 - Name 3 parties, which are have MPs, outside of the three largest parties.

Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, Social Democratic and Labour Party.

6 - Prior to the current Prime Minister, who was the Prime Minister and from what party was he from?

Gordon Brown, Labour Party.


HISTORICAL

7 - What was the main right-wing party in Scotland until the mid-60s?

Unionist Party.

8 - Which office gives the holder the official residence of 10 Downing Street? [hint: it's not as obvious as you'd think]

Prime Minister?

9 - Who was Britain's longest serving Prime Minister?

Robert Walpole.

10 - Since 1900, which party, under which leader, won the most seats, and, which party did he represent?

Ramsey McDonald, National Government.

11 - What was Labour's official campaign song in the 1997 election?

"Things Can Only Get Better"?

12 - When did Labour first enter government, under which Prime Minister?

1924, Ramsey McDonald.

13 - Who made up the so-called 'Gang of 4' and what did they do together?

Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers. They formed the Social Democratic Party.

14 - Which Prime Minister had a trademark smoking pipe?

Harold Wilson.

DEVOLUTION

15 - Scotland. Who was the first First Minister of Scotland?

Donald Dewar.

16 - Scotland. Who is the only First Minister to have won a parliamentary majority?

Alex Salmond.

17 - Wales. Who's the current First Minister of Wales?

His name escapes me.

18 - Northern Ireland. Who's the current Deputy First Minister?

Martin McGuniness?

DIFFICULT

19 - What event did Tony Blair say "wasn't a day for sound bites"?

Invasion of Iraq?

20 - Name one of the four Communist MPs who were elected.

Not sure.

21 - What are the other names that the Liberal Democrats have taken, in their various forms?

Liberal Party, Alliance, Social Liberal Democrats.

22 - Who were the five candidates in the last Labour leadership election? [Bonus: Their current offices]

Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition, David Miliband, backbencher, Ed Balls, Shadow Chancellor, Andy Burnham, Shadow Education Secretary, Diane Abbott, Shadow Health Minister.

23 - What was Margaret Thatcher most famous (or, you might say, infamous) for before she became the leader of her party?

Taking milk away from schoolchildren as Education Secretary.

24 - What's the literal seat of the Lord Speaker?

Speaker's Chair?



IMPOSSIBLE

25 - What part of Westminister Palace was the House of Commons originally?

Not sure.

26 - Who was the only Prime Minister not to speak English as a first language?

David Lloyd George.

27 - What constituency did the leader of the BNP run in and who beat him, in the 2010 election?

Barking, Margaret Hodge.

[Phony Moderate]

Easy

1. Which party won the 1959 General Election?

Conservative Party.

2. Who was the first Leader of the Labour Party?

Keir Hardie.

3. Name the constituencies of the leaders of the three largest parties in the Commons.

Doncaster North, Sheffield Hallam, Witney.

4. Who is the current Father of the House?

Peter Tapsell.


Shouldn't be so hard

5. What was the name of the constituency represented by Harold Wilson from 1950 until 1983?

Huyton.

6. What do Stoke-on-Trent and Bournemouth have in common?

They've never elected a Liberal MP?

7. Who were the following (points for each, I suppose)... Anthony Barber, Dai Grenfell, Cyril Smith, Cecil Parkinson, Billy Wolfe and Tony Crosland.

Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Heath Government, Not Sure, famous Liberal MP for Rochdale, prominent right-wing Tory during the Thatcher and Major years, Not Sure, Home Secretary during the Callaghan Government and the author of The Future of Socialism.

8. What connects T. Dan Smith, Andy Cunningham and Reginald Maulding? Bonus points for knowing who Cunningham was, because most people don't.

All corrupt.

9. Only one constituency has elected members of four separate political parties since 1945. Name it.

Ynys Môn?

Maybe slightly trickier. To do with candidates.

10. In which city did the Ted Dexter (captain of the England Cricket Team) unsuccessfully stand for the Conservatives in 1964? Bonus points for naming the constituency and the candidate that beat him.

He was defeated by James Callaghan in one of the Cardiff seats.

11. Which future television playwright was the unsuccessful Labour candidate at East Hertfordshire in the same election? Bonus point for naming the work he wrote based on his experiences as a candidate.

Dennis Potter.

12. C.B. Fry was a frequent candidate for which major political party during the inter-war period?

Liberal Party.

13. Bob Edwards was the leader of the ILP Contingent during the Spanish Civil War and later served as a Labour MP for thirty two years. To which constituency in the Black Country was he first elected for in 1955?

This is a guess....West Bromwich West.

Fairly hard, I guess.

14. Which sleepy Cathedral City came within 51 votes of electing a Communist MP in 1922? Possible bonus points for a couple of related things.

Errrr....Glasgow?

15. Name the last Conservative MP for a Manchester constituency.

Not sure.

16. Who was Austin Donohue in Our Friends in the North based on? Actually this is pretty easy question if you've seen it.

T. Dan Smith?

17. Which Labour MP had a brief cameo in Edge of Darkness? Again, if you've seen it...

Tony Benn?

18. Who was Sir Herbert Manzoni?

Italian?

19. Which future Prime Minister ordered troops to fire on striking Yorkshire miners?

Winston Churchill.

20. Who was the MP for Meirionnydd when cult TV classic The Prisoner was filmed in the constituency in the late 1960s?

Not sure.

21. Who represented Hunslet when The Uses of Literacy was first published?

Not sure.

Very Important Question

22. Pronounce 'Gala' in the context of the Big Meeting.

Errr....

[Phony Moderate]

Bump.

Here are some questions of my own....

PRESENT DAY:

1. In percentage terms, in which constituency did Labour achieve their biggest majority in the 2010 General Election?

2. Name the current leader of the Green Party and the parliamentary constituency she represents.

3. A former Deputy Prime Minister became a peer in 2010. Name him, his party and the government that he served in.

4. Which current Labour MP (in)famously supported George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign? A bonus point if you can name his/her constituency.

5. The current leader of the UK Independence Party made headlines when he contested a seat in the 2010 General Election. What happened to him on election day? Also, name the MP who he challenged and his position in the House of Commons. Bonus point if you can name the constituency.

HISTORICAL:

6. Which Labour Party leader made a conference speech during which he said "We will fight, fight and fight again to save the party we love!"? Bonus point for the year.

7. What do Stuart Randall and Peter Griffiths have in common? (Two points for this.)

8. Name the Prime Minister who many suspect was gay.

9. Who are/were the following people?: Philip Snowden, James Prior, Barbara Castle, Desmond Donnelly, Donald Dewar.

10. Which Prime Minister is often misquoted as saying "You've never had it so good"?

11. Which former Home Secretary did Peter Hitchens once accuse of being a "cultural revolutionary"?

12. What was northworthy about Central Dunbartonshire in both of the 1974 General Elections?

[Phony Moderate]

PRESENT DAY:
1. In percentage terms, in which constituency did Labour achieve their biggest majority in the 2010 General Election?
Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath?
2. Name the current leader of the Green Party and the parliamentary constituency she represents.
Caroline Lucas, Brighton Pavilion
3. A former Deputy Prime Minister became a peer in 2010. Name him, his party and the government that he served in.
John Prescott, Labour, Blair Ministry
4. Which current Labour MP (in)famously supported George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign? A bonus point if you can name his/her constituency.
?
5. The current leader of the UK Independence Party made headlines when he contested a seat in the 2010 General Election. What happened to him on election day? Also, name the MP who he challenged and his position in the House of Commons. Bonus point if you can name the constituency.
Nigel Farage challenged John Bercow, Speaker and MP for Buckingham. He was in a plane crash on election day

HISTORICAL:
6. Which Labour Party leader made a conference speech during which he said "We will fight, fight and fight again to save the party we love!"? Bonus point for the year.
Kinnock? 1989
7. What do Stuart Randall and Peter Griffiths have in common? (Two points for this.)
?
8. Name the Prime Minister who many suspect was gay.
Ted Heath?
9. Who are/were the following people?: Philip Snowden, James Prior, Barbara Castle, Desmond Donnelly, Donald Dewar.
Jim Prior was a wet minister in the Thatcher ministry - Employment then Northern Ireland I think
Barbara Castle was a Labour Cabinet minister in the 60/70s. She was the transport minister who introduced the breathalyzer.
Donald Dewar was the Labour Secretary of State for Scotland under Blair and the first First Minister for Scotland.
10. Which Prime Minister is often misquoted as saying "You've never had it so good"?
Harold Macmillan
11. Which former Home Secretary did Peter Hitchens once accuse of being a "cultural revolutionary"?
David Blunkett?
12. What was northworthy about Central Dunbartonshire in both of the 1974 General Elections?
Didn't know, so looked it up - surprised that has happened so recently

9/14, I think.