British Politics

This is a walkthrough of the political history of the UK as well as some teasers about Parliament itself ++++Expanded and updated++++

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Last updated: June 11, 2023

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Hint	Answer
The Great Charter signed in 1215 that is the cornerstone of the British constitution	Magna Carta
Monarch who was forced to sign ^ by the Barons	King John
13th Century Nobleman who convened the first Parliament in 1265	Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
First Speaker of the House of Commons	Sir Thomas Hungerford
Essayist and Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII who submitted the first known request for freedom of speech in Parliament	Sir Thomas More
Name given to the conspiracy to assassinate King James I in 1605 by blowing up Parliament	The Gunpowder Plot
The best known conspirator of ^	Guy Fawkes
Name of the meeting of MPs convened in 1640 to dismantle the structures of personal rule under King Charles I	Long Parliament
The most prominent of the "five members" who Charles I attempted to arrest in Parliament in 1642	John Pym
Soldier and statesman who led the armies of Parliament during the English Civil War and was Lord Protector from 1653-58	Oliver Cromwell
Speaker who defied Charles I when the King entered Parliament to arrest the "five members"	William Lenthal
Name of the meeting of MPs convened to push through an act establishing a court to try Charles I	Rump Parliament
Early political party that played a central role in the 1688 Glorious Revolution and contested power with the rival Tory Party into the 19th Century	Whigs
Monarchs that Parliament offered the crown to in the Glorious Revolution #1	William III
#2	Mary II
Declaration presented to ^ considered a landmark development in the civil liberties of England	Bill of Rights
Statesman considered Britain's first Prime Minister	Sir Robert Walpole
The youngest PM in British history, 24 when he came to office	William Pitt the Younger
MP, Social reformer and philanthropist who was one of the foremost leaders of the movement to abolish slavery in the British Empire	William Wilberforce
19th Century working class movement for political reform that pressured for manhood suffrage	Chartism
The only Prime Minister to be assassinated, in 1812	Spencer Perceval
Unpopular legislation in force until 1846 that imposed restrictions and tariffs on imported grain	Corn Laws
Prime Minister and one of the founders of the Conservative Party who, when Home Secretary, created the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829	Sir Robert Peel
Informal name for the Representation of the People Act of 1832, which introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales	Reform Act
Hero of the Battle of Waterloo, twice Tory Prime Minister	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Year the original Palace of Westminster burnt down	1834
The two architects who designed and built the new Palace that exists to this day #1	Sir Charles Barry
#2	Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin
The oldest existing part of the Palace of Westminster which survived the fire and dates back to 1097	Westminster Hall
Primary founder of the Labour Party	James Keir Hardie
Liberal politician who served as PM four seperate times in the 19th century, nicknamed the "grand old man" by his supporters	William Ewart Gladstone
^ His great rival, twice Conservative PM and a noted author, to date the only PM of Jewish birth	Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
Year that men aged 21 and over were given the vote	1918
Suffragette who hid in a broom cupboard in the Palace of Westminster the night of the 1911 Census and was later killed running into the path of a racehorse at the 1913 Epsom Derby	Emily Wilding Davison
Leader of the british suffragette movement	Emmeline Pankhurst
Year women aged 21 and over were given the vote	1928
First female MP to be elected and take her seat in the House of Commons	Nancy Astor
First female Speaker of the House of Commons	Betty Boothroyd
First female Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Welsh Liberal politician who was PM during the last two years of the First World War	David Lloyd George
Prime Minister of the 'National Government' of the 1930s, still considered by many in the Labour Party as a "traitor"	James Ramsay Macdonald
King whose love for American divorcee Wallis Simpson sparked the 1936 Abdication Crisis	Edward VIII
Prime Minister during the Second World War	Winston Churchill
Publicly funded healthcare system set up under the Labour Government of Clement Attlee in 1946	National Health Service
Year that the voting age was reduced to 18	1969

Hint	Answer
The year of the 'three-day week' and two general elections	1974
Shakespearean term coined by James Callaghan to describe the rash of rampant strike actions over the Christmas and New Year period of 1979	Winter of Discontent
Controversial policy introduced by Margaret Thatcher which sparked riots	Poll Tax
Annex opened in 2001 to provide extra offices for MPs	Portcullis House
Part of the Palace of Westminster that houses the Parliamentary archives	Victoria Tower
Name of the great bell housed in the Elizabeth Tower	Big Ben
Name of the tune ^ plays to announce the hour	Westminster Chimes
Area that an MP represents	Constituency
What the letters MP stand for	Member of Parliament
Party official appointed to help organise the party's contribution to parliamentary business and keep MPs in line	Whip
Official term for the end of a Parliament, heralding a general election	Dissolution
Official term for the end of a parliamentary session	Prorogation
Traditional day when a general election is held	Thursday
MPs and Lords can sit on these panels to examine the work of Government departments	Select Committees
Term describing the to and fro of amendments to Bills between the Commons and the Lords (also an alternative name for table tennis)	Ping Pong
Final stage of a Bill passing through Parliament	Royal Assent
MP who chairs debates in the House of Commons	The Speaker
Number of MPs in Parliament	650
Number of Peers eligible to take part in the work of the House of Lords	800
Collective name given to the 26 Bishops who sit in the House of Lords	Lords Spiritual
Principal officer of the House of Commons, the utmost authority on procedure and privilege and the CEO of the House	Clerk of the House
Annual event marking the commencement of a session of Parliament	State Opening of Parliament
Name of the House of Lords official who, during ^ summons the House of Commons to attend the Queen's Speech by striking the door of the Commons chamber with his staff	Lady Usher of the Black Rod
Officer responsible for the security of the House of Commons and the personal safety of The Speaker	Serjeant at Arms
19th century constitutional theorist and former Clerk of the House of Commons who wrote the definitive guide to parliamentary procedure that is still used around the world	Thomas Erskine May
Official report of proceedings in the Houses of Parliament	Hansard
The nefarious practice of using a long speech to delay or obstruct parliamentary business	Filibuster
Where an MP or Lord sits in their respective debating chamber if they are neither a Minister or spokesperson for their party	Backbenches
What the Prime Minister stands at when addressing the Speaker in the House of Commons	Despatch Box
To date, the only politician to have held the four great offices of state: Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary	James Callaghan
Ceremonial staff of office symbolising Royal authority that lies in the Commons when it is in session	Mace
Name for what takes place when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between general elections	By-election
Including the 2019 election, how many general elections there have been since the Second World War	21
Party that won the 2019 general election, with an 80-seat majority	Conservative
Current Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Term used for when a general election returns no outright winner	Hung Parliament
Term used for when two or more parties agree to work together to form a Government	Coalition
Term used for when a Party wins an overwhelming majority in a general election	Landslide
Collective name for the Prime Minister and his most senior frontbench Government officials who represent the departments of state	Cabinet
Address of the Prime Minister	10 Downing Street
Around 500 people who have reached high office, including many MPs and Peers, are members of this assembly set up to advise the Queen in carrying out her duties as Monarch	Privy Council
Public declaration of ideas and policies of a political party, usually introduced in an election campaign	Manifesto
The principal area in the Palace of Westminster where constituents can meet their MPs	Central Lobby
Name of the current Speaker of the House of Commons	Sir Lindsay Hoyle
Name of the Lord Speaker	Lord McFall of Alcluith

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