Conservative Party
Quiz
Rowena Hammal
Conservative Party: Quiz
How to do this quiz
•
Use a pen and paper to record your answers.
•
Once you’ve finished the quiz, go through the answers and give yourself one
mark for each correct answer.
•
Add up your total score and see how you did.
Conservative Party: Quiz
Questions 1: Leaders
Which Conservatives took on the leadership of their party in the following years?
1. 2005
2. 2003
3. 2001
4. 1997
5. 1990
6. 1975
Conservative Party: Quiz
Questions 2: Parliamentarians
1. Who said this in 1968? ‘As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the
Roman, I seem to see “the River Tiber foaming with much blood”.’
2. Who said this of interest groups in 1986? ‘[They are] serpents that strangle
efficient government.’
3. Who made the news in November 2014 for sneaking rude words into a speech to
Parliament, in order to honour a Navy dare?
4. What proportion of Conservative MPs are female?
5. What have Conservative MPs done more times in the 2010–15 parliament than in
any other?
Conservative Party: Quiz
Questions 3: Policies
1. Which policy area has been the most divisive within the Conservative Party over
the past 40 years?
2. What new type of schools were introduced by the Conservatives as part of their
2010–15 coalition government?
3. What was the name of the controversial NHS reforms introduced by health
secretary Andrew Lansley?
4. Which of the following taxes has not been reduced by Conservative chancellor of
the exchequer George Osborne: income tax, value-added tax (VAT), stamp duty,
green levies on energy companies?
5. Which controversial reforms has Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith been
responsible for?
Conservative Party: Quiz
Questions 4: Voters and elections
1. Which party won two by-elections against the Conservatives in 2014?
2. Which Conservative leader secured the biggest Conservative majority in the last
50 years?
3. Which high-profile Conservative will be running as the candidate for Uxbridge
and South Ruislip in 2015, with the hope of returning to Parliament after an
absence of some years?
4. In which postwar election did the Conservatives famously fail to win the popular
vote but yet manage to win the most seats?
5. In which part of the UK have Conservatives seen a sharp decline in recent
decades, currently only having one MP?
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 1: Leaders
Which Conservatives took on the leadership of their party in the following years?
1. 2005 David Cameron
2. 2003 Michael Howard
3. 2001 Iain Duncan Smith
4. 1997 William Hague
5. 1990 John Major
6. 1975 Margaret Thatcher
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 2: Parliamentarians
1. Who said this in 1968? ‘As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the
Roman, I seem to see “the River Tiber foaming with much blood”.’
Enoch Powell MP made this notorious speech against immigration. You can read
the whole speech here. Powell was sacked from the shadow cabinet by leader
Edward Heath, and his speech continues to be a source of controversy for
Conservatives to this day.
2. Who said this of interest groups in 1986? ‘[They are] serpents that strangle
efficient government.’
Home secretary Douglas Hurd. His actual words were slightly more elaborate,
referring to ‘serpents emerging from the sea to strangle Laocoön and his sons
in their coils’, a reference to a classical Greek sculpture.
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 2: Parliamentarians (cont.)
3. Who made the news in November 2014 for sneaking rude words into a speech to
Parliament, in order to honour a Navy dare?
Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt. She initially got away
with her prank, but confessed to having done it some months later, which
sparked a controversy. Read more and watch her speech here.
4. What proportion of Conservative MPs are female?
16%. This is a longstanding problem for the party. For most of the 2010–15
parliament, there have been more Old Etonians than women in Cabinet. Read
articles on women and the Conservatives here and here.
5. What have Conservative MPs done more times in the 2010–15 parliament than in
any other?
Rebelled. Watch a short video clip about the Conservatives’ most rebellious MP
here.
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 3: Policies
1. Which policy area has been the most divisive within the Conservative Party over
the past 40 years? Europe
2. What new type of schools were introduced by the Conservatives as part of their
2010–15 coalition government? Free schools
3. What was the name of the controversial NHS reforms introduced by health
secretary Andrew Lansley? Health and Social Care Act 2012
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 3: Policies (cont.)
4. Which of the following taxes has not been reduced by Conservative chancellor of
the exchequer George Osborne: income tax, value-added tax (VAT), stamp duty,
green levies on energy companies?
VAT. This consumption tax was raised by the coalition from 17.5% to 20%.
This move was criticised by Labour as VAT is paid by everyone, including the
poor, unlike income tax, which is progressive.
5. Which controversial reforms has Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith been
responsible for?
Welfare reforms, including a cap on total benefits of £26,000 per annum for
families, changing the benefits system for disabled people, introducing
Universal Credit. Read more here.
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 4: Voters and elections
1. Which party won two by-elections against the Conservatives in 2014? UKIP,
winning the Clacton by-election in October 2014, and the Rochester and Strood
by-election in November 2014. Both winning candidates were the former
Conservative incumbents who each defected to UKIP.
2. Which Conservative leader secured the biggest Conservative majority in the last
50 years? Margaret Thatcher, with a majority of 144 in 1983, following her
Falklands War victory.
3. Which high-profile Conservative will be running as the candidate for Uxbridge
and South Ruislip in 2015, with the hope of returning to Parliament after an
absence of some years? Boris Johnson. Johnson was an MP from 2001 to 2008
before becoming mayor of London. He has been tipped as a possible leader of his
party.
Conservative Party: Quiz
Answers 4: Voters and elections (cont.)
4.
In which postwar election did the Conservatives famously fail to win the popular
vote but yet manage to win the most seats? 1951. Conservative leader Winston
Churchill removed Labour from power by winning 7 more seats, despite
receiving less votes in total.
5.
In which part of the UK have Conservatives seen a sharp decline in recent
decades, currently only having one MP? Scotland. During the 2014
independence referendum campaign, Nationalists jibed that Scotland had more
giant pandas than Tory MPs.
Conservative Party: Quiz
Results
18–20: Congratulations, a Thatcher-like victory!
15–17: Well done. Like John Major, you are a safe choice.
10–14: Not terrible, not amazing. Reminiscent of David Cameron’s 2010 election
result.
5–9: Clearly more work needs to be done, just as Michael Howard recognised when
he resigned as leader following the 2005 general election.
0–4: Better hit the books or, like the self-styled ‘quiet man’ Iain Duncan Smith,
you won’t have much to say for yourself in the exam!