AP CG: BRITAIN
Ch. 15 and Ethel Wood Review
1. All of the following are examples o rationallegal authority in Britain EXCEPT
•
•
•
•
•
A. the Magna Carta
B. the Bill of Rights
C. common law
D. hereditary monarchy
E. the “Constitution of the Crown”
2. Which of the following countries
have legal and justice systems based
on common law?
•
•
•
•
I. Great Britain
II. The United States
III. France
IV. Germany
•
•
•
•
•
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II, III, and IV
D. III and IV only
E. I, II, III, and IV
3. In the early 21st century, which of
the following social cleavages appears
to be getting stronger?
•
•
•
•
•
A. social class
B. multi-nationalism
C. ethnicity
D. age groups
E. political ideologies
4. Controversy in Britain over the
European Union has most frequently
centered on
• A. elections of representatives to the European
Parliament
• B. competition with France over who heads the
Council of Ministers
• C. cooperation with other countries regarding
anti-terrorism
• D. competitive educational opportunities on the
continent
• E. the adoption of the euro as the national
currency
5. Despite Britain’s numerous political
parties, one political party has always
been able to claim a majority in
Parliament. The BEST single reason is
• A. parliamentary majorities are usually based on
coalitions
• B. the plurality electoral system is used
• C. very few people actually vote for parties other
than Conservative or Labour
• D. regional parties are forbidden by law from
controlling Parliament
• E. Britain has a conflictual political culture
6. Neo-liberalism is most closely
associated with British policymaking
under
•
•
•
•
•
A. Winston Churchill
B. Clement Atlee
C. Gordon Brown
D. Tony Blair
E. Margaret Thatcher
7. Which of the following characteristics
of Britain’s political culture may be
linked most directly to its cautious
attitude toward the European Union?
•
•
•
•
•
A. insularity
B. noblesse oblige
C. traditionalism
D. multi-nationalism
E. gradulaism
8. Which of the following BEST
describes the nature of political and
economic change over the long course
of Britain’s history?
•
•
•
•
•
A. frequent coup d’etats
B. economic revolution
C. political revolution
D. gradual reform
E. periods of reform followed by periods of
revolution
9. Which of the following is the best
description of Britain’s political party
system since its inception in the 17th
century?
• A. Britain has always had a multi-party system characterized by
coalitions among parties.
• B. Britain has always been a two-party system: Conservative and
Labour parties.
• C. Britain has always been dominated by two parties, but Labour
replaced the Liberals as a main party in the early 20th century.
• D. British political parties were very weak until the 20th century,
when Conservatives, Labour, and Liberals all gained access to the
policymaking process
• E. Political parties were strong until the mid-20th century, when
their power began to decline.
10. What do Neil Kinnock, John Smith,
Tony Bair, and Gordon Brown all have
in common?
• A. They’ve all been British prime ministers.
• B. They’ve all been leaders of the Conservative
Party.
• C. They’ve all been leaders of the Liberal
Democrat Party.
• D. They’ve all been chancellors of the exchequer.
• E. They’ve all been leaders of the Labour Party.
11. The post-World War II cabinet laid
the foundations for a
•
•
•
•
•
A. free market economy
B. socialist economy
C. command economy
D. mixed economy
E. decentralized economy
12. Tony Blair’s “third way” was an
attempt to balance the socialist
policies of the Labour Party during the
1970s with
•
•
•
•
A. collective consensus
B. Margaret Thatcher’s free-market policies
C. Winston Churchill’s internationalism
D. Bill Clinton’s new direction for the
Democratic Party in the U.S.
• E. the demands made by the Democratic
Liberal Party for more personal liberties.
13. Tony Blair’s support for devolution
was primarily stimulated by Britain’s
problems with
• A. Multi-national identities
• B. increasing numbers of immigrants from
India and Pakistan
• C. urban vs. rural areas
• D. emigration of education citizens to the U.S.
• E. social class differences
14. In modern times political elites in
Britain have most often been recruited
from
•
•
•
•
•
A. the military
B. business and industry
C. the middle class
D. Oxbridge
E. aristocratic families
15. Which of the following is an
accurate description of British
Muslims?
• A. They form roughly 20% of Britain’s
population.
• B. Most of them emigrated from Africa.
• C. Most of them are well-educated.
• D. Most of them are involved with terrorist
activities.
• E. Most are not well-integrated into British
society.
16. The “Good Friday” agreement
addressed the issue of
•
•
•
•
A. Protest over the Iraq War
B. the adoption of the euro
C. religious conflict in Northern Ireland
D. sovereignty powers of the Scottish
Parliament
• E. government control of the media
17. The political party that gets most
of its support from rural and suburban
areas of England is
•
•
•
•
•
A. Labour
B. Plaid Cymru
C. Liberal Democrat
D. Conservative
E. Democratic Unionist
18. The British political party most
disadvantaged by the plurality voting
system is
•
•
•
•
•
A. Labour
B. Scottish Nationalist
C. Conservative
D. Sinn Fein
E. Liberal Democratic
19. Which of the following is
characteristic of British elections?
• A. Party leaders run in “safe districts.”
• B. MP candidates must live in their districts.
• C. Individuals vote for four officials on the
national level.
• D. Virtually no minor parties sin MP seats.
• E. Elections for the House of Commons are
held at different times than elections for the
House of Lords.
20. Quangos best represent which
pattern of interest group involvement
in policymaking?
•
•
•
•
•
A. interest group pluralism
B. solidarity
C. state corporatism
D. neo-corporatism
E. liberalism
21. Which of the following is NOT an
accurate description of the
relationship between the British
government and the BBC?
• A. The government strictly regulates the BBC and private
media companies.
• B. the BBC has competition from private media outlets.
• C. the BBC seldom criticizes the government’s officials.
• D. The government prohibits the BBC from selling
advertisements to politicians, parties, and political
causes.
• E. The government allows the BBC to broadcast
internationally.
22. Which of the following is an
accurate description of the British
political system?
• A. It’s a unitary state with political authority centralized in
London.
• B. It’s a federal state with a central government that shares
powers with sub-units of government.
• C. Although officials are directly elected, the fusion between
the executive and legislative branches makes it an
authoritarian state.
• D. It has a confederal government that suits the multi-national
country very well.
• E. It’s a corporatist state that allows interest group input but
chooses which groups have access to the government.
23. Collective responsibility is a
concept that applies most clearly to
the British
•
•
•
•
•
A. House of Commons
B. House of Lords
C. cabinet
D. bureaucracy
E. judiciary
24. All of the following are accurate
statements about the British executive
EXCEPT
• A. the prime minister serves only as long as (s)he
remains leader of the majority party.
• B. the prime minister is elected as a member of
parliament
• C. cabinet members are always MPs and leaders of
the majority party
• D. the cabinet members rely on bureaucrats to
provide expertise in specific policymaking areas
• E. the prime minister has an excellent chance of
ending up in gridlock with parliament
25. The shadow cabinet is formed by
the
•
•
•
•
•
A. majority party in Parliament
B. House of Lords
C. Bureaucracy
D. judiciary
E. loyal opposition
26. If a vote of confidence is lost in
House of commons, by tradition, what
happens next?
•
•
•
•
•
A. The opposition party takes over.
B. The prime minister and cabinet resign.
C. The House votes for a new leadership team.
D. The prime minister chooses a new cabinet.
E. The vote goes to the House of Lords.
27. Britain’s highest court of appeals
consists of
•
•
•
•
•
A. the law lords
B. specially elected judges
C. judges selected by the queen
D. cabinet members
E. judges appointed by the prime minister and
confirmed by the House of Lords
28. The most important shapers of the
British political economy during the
Blair years were Tony Blair and
•
•
•
•
•
A. Gordon Brown
B. Jack Straw
C. John Major
D. David Cameron
E. John Maynard Keynes
29. Referenda on British policy issues
have actually been held for
•
•
•
•
•
A. the European Constitution
B. the adoption o the euro as a currency
C. Regional assemblies
D. the National Health Service
E. support for the Iraq War
30. The nature of the issue of
terrorism in Britain has changed over
the past few years from a focus on
• A. international terrorism to violence in Northern
Ireland.
• B. violence in Northern Ireland to international
terrorism.
• C. solutions crafted by the government in London
to solutions collectively considered thorough the
European Union.
• D. control of British citizens to control of
immigration into the country.
• E. individual acts of terror to actions sponsored
by organized groups.