U.K. Political Quiz Questions
* * * * GRAND UK.POLITICS AND ALT.POLITICS.BRITISH SUMMER QUIZ ANSWERS * * * *
A. Conservatives
1. Which current Conservative MP:
a) posts to uk.politics?
David Shaw MP (C, Kent, Dover), who can be emailed at david@dlshaw.demon.co.uk.
b) was a Liberal candidate in 1974?
Jack Aspinwall MP (C, Avon, Wansdyke). He twice contested Kingswood for the
Liberals before defecting to the Conservatives and winning the same constituency
from Labour in 1979.
c) was a Labour MP from 1970 to 1981, and SDP from 1981 to 1983?
John Horam MP (C, Bromley, Orpington). Elected as Labour MP for Gateshead West
in 1970, he defected to the SDP at its foundation in March 1981. Defeated in
1983, he subsequently joined the Conservatives and succeeded Ivor Stanbrook as
MP for Orpington in 1992.
d) was elected to parliament aged only 23 years 104 days, and is now first
in line for the Fathership of the House of Commons?
Rt. Hon. Paul Channon MP (C, Southend, West). In 1958, On the retirement of his
father, diarist Henry ("Chips") Channon, he won the nomination for the seat
against minor local criticism. His grandmother (who had represented the seat
from 1927 to 1935) said "I think you have done right by backing a colt when you
know the stable he was trained in." Though other current MPs were first elected
before Channon, all have interrupted service apart from Sir Edward Heath.
e) deciding that his seat was too marginal, went elsewhere and lost - though
his original seat was held easily?
Ian Sproat MP (C, Essex, Harwich). He had been elected for Aberdeen, South in
1970 and held it in 1979 with a majority of 772 votes. The boundary changes in
1983 depleted Conservative strength, and he successfully obtained the nomination
for the new Roxburgh and Berwickshire seat. However this was gained by Liberal
Archie Kirkwood, and Aberdeen South's replacement Conservative Gerald Malone
held the seat with a majority of 3,581.
f) started his political career after Balliol College nominated him as an
anti-Franco candidate for the Presidency of Oxford University
Conservative Association against pro-Franco John Stokes?
Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Heath MP (C, Bexley, Old Bexley and Sidcup). After the war,
having held the post helped overcome the reluctance of Bexley Conservatives to
select a candidate who was the son of a carpenter and a housemaid.
g) wrote to a constituent "students such as yourselves are nothing more
than middle-class parasites living off working-class taxpayers" and has
described women as "natural bitches"?
John Carlisle MP (C, Bedfordshire, North Luton). He himself admits to having "a
liberal helping of cheek".
h) appeared on the "Scallywag" list of gay Conservative MPs despite having
been given a black eye by a rival for the affection of a woman?
Rt. Hon. Norman Lamont MP (C, Kingston-upon-Thames, Kingston-upon-Thames). The
woman was the daughter of Lord Rothschild.
i) was born at Chequers (the Prime Minister's country mansion)?
Winston Churchill MP (C, Davyhulme). As the grandson of the then Prime Minister
whose name he bears, his father Randolph was staying with his father at the
time.
j) was told to resign from the government by his daughter?
Rt. Hon. Sir Nicholas Scott MP (C, Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea). His
daughter Victoria is the parliamentary officer of a disabled charity who
objected to the Government's sabotaging of the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons)
Bill.
2. Conservatives and sex scandals.
a) Which then Conservative MP was found in flagrante delicto with a
guardsman in Hyde Park, and later became a spokesman for the Campaign for
Homosexual Equality? (1958)
Ian Harvey, MP for Harrow, East from 1950 until 1958. At the time of the arrest
he was Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office; his original offer of
resignation was rejected by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. After a summary
conviction, he resigned and was succeeded by John Profumo.
b) Which Conservative Minister found that to lie in the nude was perfectly
rude, but to lie in the House was obscene? (1963)
John Profumo, Secretary of State for War from 1960 until 1963. His resignation
was not forced by the scandal itself, but by his statement in the House of
Commons in March 1963 that "There was no impropriety whatsoever in my
relationship with Miss Keeler".
c) Which Conservative Minister was forced to resign because of the
revalations of Norma Levy? (1973)
Lord Lambton, MP for Northumberland, Berwick-upon-Tweed from 1951 until 1973 and
Under-Secretary for the Air Force from 1970 until 1973. Mrs. Levy's husband,
Colin Levy, attempted to sell compromising information to the press.
d) Which other Conservative Minister subsequently resigned, though he was
not connected to that scandal? (1973 also)
2nd Earl Jellicoe, Leader of the House of Lords from 1970 until 1973. Having
resigned over rumours of affairs with "call-girls" the day after Lambton
resigned, a Security Commission report found that there was no connection
between the cases.
e) Which Conservative Minister was not forced to resign when his mistress
attempted suicide, but resigned a few weeks later after making
insensitive comments on a rape case? (1982)
Sir Nicholas Fairbairn MP (C, Tayside, Perth and Kinross), Solicitor General for
Scotland from 1979 until 1982. His mistress, Pamela Milne, attempted suicide in
December 1981 in Fairbairn's London home. Fairbairn retreated to his scottish
home, Fordell Castle, and avoided the press. However, asked about a Glasgow rape
case in January 1982, he told the press of the reason not to prosecute before
informing parliament and was forced to resign.
f) Which then Conservative MP was attracted to his 23 year old Labour
opponent in the 1983 general election?
Hon. Alan Clark, then defending Plymouth, Sutton for the Conservatives. His
Labour opponent was a 23-year old student, and Clark's diaries record his desire
to sneak away with her during the counting process.
g) Which Conservative Minister died of AIDS? (1985)
2nd Earl of Avon, Nicholas Eden. Son of former Prime Minister Anthony Eden, he
had been a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment from 1983
until shortly before his death.
h) Which Conservative MP died, but not of AIDS (despite rumours that he
had)? (1986)
Martin Stevens, MP for Hammersmith and Fulham, Fulham from 1979 until his death.
He had been publically associated with the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
before his election, and this and his florid complexion were thought to have
encouraged the rumours.
i) Why did Conservative MP David Ashby share hotel beds with other men?
(1994)
"To save money".
j) What was the reaction of Emmanuel College Students Union (Cambridge) to
the scandals involving Emmanuel graduates Cecil Parkinson and Tim Yeo?
They named the college bar the "Parkinson/Yeo Bar". This was coupled with a safe
sex/condom promotion within the college. A JCR (Junior Combination Room) speaker
said that the naming was intended to remind students of the consequences of not
taking precautions.
B. Labour
3. Which current Labour MP:
a) is the son-in-law of the late Pat Phoenix?
Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP (Lab, Durham, Sedgefield). His wife, Cherie Booth, is the
daughter of actor Tony Booth; both Booth and then girlfriend Pat Phoenix
campaigned for Blair in Sedgefield in 1983.
b) has Guillain-Barre' syndrome?
Rt. Hon. Tony Benn MP (Lab, Chesterfield). The syndrome was diagnosed in 1981
while Benn was contesting the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party; symptoms
include a tingling sensation in the legs and arms that develops into severe
pain.
c) was elected to parliament at the same time her husband was? (They have
since divorced)
Gwyneth Dunwoody MP (Lab, Cheshire, Crewe and Nantwich). She and then husband
Dr. John Dunwoody were both elected for seats in the South-West in 1966 (Gwyneth
for Exeter, John for Falmouth and Camborne). They divorced in 1975.
d) was elected to parliament at the same time her husband was defeated? (He
has since died)
Clare Short MP (Lab, Birmingham, Ladywood). Her husband, Alex Lyon, represented
York from 1966 until 1983, when he was defeated by Conal Gregory. Meanwhile she
held the more safe Birmingham, Ladywood. Alex Lyon died after a long illness in
1993.
e) has been accused, under court priviledge, of being a child-molester?
Hon. Greville Janner MP (Lab, Leicester, West). The accusation was part of the
case for the defence of Frank Beck, a Leicestershire social worker accused of
abusing boys in his care. Beck died of a heart attack while his appeal was
pending, earlier this year.
f) lost a libel action against a political columnist who claimed he had
exaggerated his working-class origins?
Michael Meacher MP (Lab, Oldham, West). He sued for libel after a piece by Alan
Watkins in the Observer pointed out that Meacher's claim that his father was an
agricultural labourer did not point out that he had been a wealthy stockbroker
who was ordered to retire on doctor's advice, and took up farm work to relax
him.
g) Defended the House of Commons by saying the number of corrupt MPs could
be counted on the fingers of one hand, and was then challenged to name
the guilty five?
Joe Ashton MP (Lab, Nottinghamshire, Bassetlaw). The article, in Labour Weekly
in 1974, was printed when the Poulson scandal was at its height; it was referred
to the Committee on Priviledges.
h) suggested Margaret Thatcher as a possible Governor of a European Central
Bank?
Dennis Skinner MP (Lab, Derbyshire, Bolsover). In Margaret Thatcher's last
speech as Prime Minister, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman Alan Beith asked
whether she intended to continue her personal fight against a single currency
and an independent central bank when she left office. Hansard records Dennis
Skinner responding "No. She is going to be the governor. [Laughter]".
i) told a racist Labour supporter to "stuff your vote" even though her seat
was highly marginal?
Joan Lestor MP (Lab, Eccles), while touring the Aspro factory in Slough (her
then constituency was Eton and Slough). The seat had been gained by Labour in
1966, though Miss Lestor held on by 2,667 votes in 1970 over Conservative
candidate Nigel Lawson.
j) called on people to vote for the Alliance where Labour was third, and
refused to issue a statement of support for a Labour candidate who had
complained the quote was being used against her?
Frank Field MP (Lab, Birkenhead). In April 1987, he supported tactical voting
for the Alliance where Labour was third in a BBC interview. The following Labour
National Executive meeting decided not to back a move by Tony Benn that Field be
asked to issue a statement calling on all electors to vote Labour. When Angela
Smith, Labour's candidate in Southend, West, appealed to Field for a statement
to rebut the local Liberal candidate, Field wrote back "I stand by what I said
on tactical voting and I don't issue statements of support for anyone."
4. Labour and financial scandals.
a) Which Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer accidentally leaked the budget?
(1947)
Rt. Hon. Hugh Dalton, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 until 1947. Coming
into the House of Commons Lobby on Budget day in November 1947, Dalton
encountered John Carvel, a journalist friend who was Lobby correspondent for the
Star newspaper, and told him of the main changes in the budget. Carvel had just
enough time to telephone in the news for an accurate "prediction" to be made in
the Star's mid-afternoon edition; when the matter was pursued by Beverley
Baxter, a Conservative MP, Dalton offered his resignation. Many were surprised
that Prime Minister Clement Attlee accepted it.
b) What budget proposal caused Aneurin Bevan and Harold Wilson to resign?
(1951)
Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Gaitskell proposed to levy charges on services
provided by the National Health Service. Bevan, who created the Health Service,
considered it a matter of principle that all services provided by it should be
free.
*c) What libellous accusation by the Spectator cost it seven and a half
thousand pounds damages, though later turned out to be true? (1957)
The Spectator, commentating on an international Socialist conference in Venice,
said that Aneurin Bevan, Morgan Phillips (Secretary of the Labour Party) and
Richard Crossman "puzzled the Italians by their capacity to fill themselves like
tanks with whisky and coffee". Bevan, Phillips and Crossman sued for libel and
each won two and a half thousand pounds. However, Crossman's backbench diaries
published posthumously show that they had indeed been drunk at the conference.
d) Which Labour MP was found to have been taking money from Czechoslovak
intelligence since the 1950s? (1969-70)
Will Owen, MP for Morpeth from 1954 until 1970. When the Czech intelligence
officer Joseph Frolik defected to America in 1969, he named a number of Labour
MPs and trade union officials as recruited by Czech intelligence. The four MPs
generally accepted to have been named by Frolik were Will Owen, John Stonehouse,
Barnett Stross and Tom Driberg (the latter may have been a double agent). On
investigation Owen was found to have been taking money from Czech intelligence
since the late 1950s, though he was known as "Greedy bastard" by the Czechs for
the paucity of information provided. He was acquitted of espionage after it was
accepted that the information he passed was not secret.
e) The father of which current Shadow Cabinet member was imprisoned for
corruption as part of the Poulson affair? (1973)
Jack Cunningham. His father, Andy Cunningham, had been a trade union
representative on the Labour National Executive Committee from 1964 until 1974
from the National Union of General and Municipal Workers.
f) Whose signature did Ronald Millhench forge? (1974)
Harold Wilson. Millhench, a Wolverhampton insurance broker, had been involved in
a land deal initiated by the brother of Wilson's Private Secretary Marcia
Williams. The forged letter, apparently on House of Commons notepaper and signed
by Wilson, was intended to impress the local council into favouring his scheme.
g) When the International Credit Bank of Geneva got into financial
difficulties, who was the most senior figure to have his account frozen?
(1974)
Harold Wilson. The ICB was set up in 1959 as a part of the Zionist movement and
was used to funnel money into and out of Israel. Wilson, a noted pro-Zionist,
had in 1973 received a one and a half thousand pound donation from Arieh Handler
who headed the bank's London branch; he intended to use the money to finance his
office as Leader of the Opposition. None of the money had been spent by the time
the bank closed in July 1974.
h) Who was arrested in Australia in the belief that he was Lord Lucan?
(1975)
John Stonehouse. He had faked his own disappearance, or death from drowning, in
Miami in November 1974. After retrieving an alternate set of clothes and fake
passport (under the name Joseph Markham) he got on a flight for Australia. On
24th December 1974 he was arrested in Melbourne, police mistaking him for the
missing Earl who had disappeared almost simultaneously.
i) Which raincoat manufacturer was imprisoned for fraud? (1978)
Lord Kagan. Kagan, a lifelong friend and supporter of Harold Wilson, was
ennobled in Wilson's resignation honours list. He owned the patent for Gannex
raincoats, which were Wilson's favourites; in December 1977 warrants were issued
for his arrest for conspiracy to defraud the public revenue. Kagan was not
arrested until he visited Paris in 1980; at his trial he got 10 months in prison
and a large fine.
j) "If he's a socialist, I'm a banana". Which businessman? (-1991)
Robert Maxwell. The then richest member of the Labour Party was engaged in
union-busting activities at Pergamon Press.
C. OTHER PARTIES
5. Liberals, Social Democrats, Liberal Democrats.
a) Which current Liberal Democrat MP said of himself "One has close
relationships with people of one's own or the opposite sex and sometimes
these might become sexual"?
David Alton MP (L Dem, Liverpool, Mossley Hill). At the byelection in Liverpool
Edge Hill in March 1979, one of the other candidates was one Michael Taylor.
Taylor claimed to have met two men in a pub who asked if he wanted to be the
National Front candidate at the byelection. Taylor agreed and signed the consent
to nomination form, which was eventually lodged with the description "Gay
Liberal". Alton claimed this was a smear campaign against him.
b) Which current Liberal Democrat MP issued in support of leadership
contender Alan Beith a savage, unsigned letter attacking Paddy Ashdown -
so savage that Beith repudiated it?
Alex Carlile MP (L Dem, Powys, Montgomery). In May 1988, during the leadership
election for the Social and Liberal Democrats, Carlile published the attack
which concentrated on Ashdown's record on defence (Ashdown, as Alliance defence
spokesman, had accepted the SDP-inspired nuclear defence policy over the
traditional Liberal unilateralism). Beith regarded the attack as mudslinging,
and disavowed it.
c) Which current Liberal Democrat MP was reelected in 1992, despite nearly
74% of those voting opposing him?
Sir Russell Johnston MP (L Dem, Highland, Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber). In the
1992 election he won with only 26.05% of the votes cast, the lowest ever
percentage for a winner.
d) Which current Liberal Democrat MP while at Kindergarten imprisoned his
headmistress in a cupboard?
Rt. Hon. Paddy Ashdown MP (L Dem, Somerset, Yeovil), whilst at the County Down
kindergarten.
e) Of 5 SDP MPs in 1988, how many supported merger from the beginning?
One. Charles Kennedy supported merger; Robert Maclennan was initially against
but went along with the majority of members. David Owen, John Cartwright and
Rosie Barnes stayed with the unmerged party.
f) When/why did the Liberals and Social Democrats propose to extend VAT to
children's toys, books and newspapers?
In January 1988, when the first joint policy statement of the merged party was
issued. The main author, one of then SDP leader Robert Maclennan's staff, was
extremely pro-European integration and supported harmonising VAT which meant
levying the usual rate on previously zero-rated goods. The policy statement was
dropped after only one day.
g) Who joined the SDP from the Labour Party, then resigned from it and
tried to rejoin Labour when he was deselected by the SDP?
Michael O'Halloran, Labour MP for Islington, North from 1969. He joined the SDP
whilst under threat of deselection from the Labour Party; eventually all 3 of
Islington's Labour MPs defected. The borough was reduced to two MPs in 1983 and
O'Halloran lost out to Islington Central MP John Grant; he subsequently resigned
and sat in parliament as a "Labour Independent in support of the Parliamentary
Labour Party". However Labour had already selected Jeremy Corbyn as candidate.
h) Which former Liberal MP was pro-hanging, anti-Common Market, anti-
sanctions on Rhodesia and pro-intervention in Vietnam?
Peter Bessell, MP for Cornwall, Bodmin from 1964 until 1970. Deciding to leave
parliament after less than four years, Bessell had secret talks with both Labour
and Conservative Party figures in attempts to defect.
i) Which patriotic businessman became a major donor to the Liberal Party
under Jeremy Thorpe's leadership?
Jack Hayward. Hayward, who lived on Bermuda, was nick-named "Union Jack" for his
insistence that every public building on the island have the British flag flying
and a portrait of the Queen in the office. He contacted Jeremy Thorpe when
Thorpe launched an appeal to stop Lundy Island (in his constituency) being sold
to french developers; Hayward subsequently donated three hundred thousand pounds
to various funds under the control of Thorpe.
j) What was the main source of income to Lloyd George's Liberal fund?
The sale of honours. It was public knowledge that various honours, up to and
including hereditary peerages, were sold by the Coalition government for large
donations to party funds. Some traditional Conservatives attacked it on class
grounds, but the Conservative government that followed also accepted similar
payments for honours; the practice was made illegal in 1925.
6. Other smaller parties and Independents.
a) The record for simultaneous candidacies in a General Election was set in
1974 by T.L. Keen of the Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain. What was
the electoral policy of the campaign?
The campaign sought no votes for itself. It told voters to vote tactically to
defeat the Labour party. The campaign had been set up by Keen and a colleague,
Harold Smith, who were both Manchester-based businessmen.
b) What description was used by the frequent byelection candidate Bill Boaks
in his contests? (several variations possible)
"Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident" or variations on the above.
Boaks' main policy was opposition to cars, and he would frequently sit in the
fast lane of the A40(M) Westway in Hammersmith austentatiously reading the Daily
Telegraph. Ironically his death at the age of 82 was a result of a road traffic
accident.
c) Which astronomer founded the United Country Party? (1979)
Patrick Moore. The policy of the Party was essentially right-wing.
d) Which Cabinet Minister did Independent Unity MP Bernadette Devlin hit?
(1972)
Reginald Maudling, Home Secretary. The day after the "Bloody Sunday" killing of
13 unarmed demonstrators, Maudling had just made a statement that the
demonstrators were responsible for the degree of force needed to arrest them.
e) What was unusual about the abstention of Independent MP Frank Maguire in
the motion of no confidence in the Labour government? (1979)
He made the long trip from the pub he was landlord of, in County Fermanagh, to
attend the debate in person and not vote. Maguire was an infrequent attender in
the House of Commons and had IRA sympathies; his turning up to "abstain in
person" caused some confusion.
f) What, specifically, links the candidacies of James O'Grady in the
Bermondsey byelection (1983) and Lesley Mahmood in the Walton byelection
(1991)?
Both used the description "Real Labour" when they were opposing the official
Labour Party candidate. O'Grady, who sought election as the "Real Bermondsey
Labour" candidate, opposed the selection of radical leftwinger Peter Tatchell as
official Labour candidate and considered himself the proper representative of
Bermondsey Labour. Mahmood had been narrowly defeated for the Walton nomination
and contested the byelection as "Walton Real Labour", being backed by Militant
and the Broad Left.
g) What did James Lambert do to annoy Conservative leader Edward Heath in
his constituency? (1970)
He added the christian name Edward and the surname Heath so that his name
appeared on the ballot paper as "Edward James Robert Lambert Heath". He opposed
British entry into the Common Market and stood as a "Conservative and Consult
the People" candidate.
h) Nine candidates stood as "Independent Servicemen" at byelections in 1962
but did no campaigning and did not expect to win. Why?
They had discovered a clause in the Queen's Regulations for the armed forces
that said that political activity was incompatible with military service. Thus,
by being parliamentary candidates, they bought themselves out of the army for
the price of a lost deposit. The law was changed in 1962 to remove the
loophole.
i) For which Party did journalist Paul Foot stand as a candidate? (1977)
The Socialist Worker's Party. Foot was the candidate in Birmingham, Stechford
and polled 1% of the vote. The Socialist Workers Party has not contested a
parliamentary election since 1978.
j) Which broadcaster polled 5.3% of the vote as a royalist candidate? (1978)
Jonathan King. Standing under his real name (Kenneth George King) he polled a
respectable 2,350 votes in the Epsom and Ewell byelection on 27th April 1978.
D. SPECIALIST ROUNDS
7. The Lord Archer round. Which novelist:
a) went to Harrow, the prestigious public school?
b) has a father who won the DCM?
c) studied at Oxford University?
d) was made bankrupt and thus forced to resign from parliament?
e) is a friend of Frank Sinatra?
All are trick questions. Score one mark for any answer that is not "Lord Archer"
or "Jeffrey Archer". All are distortions of the truth told by/about Lord
Archer:
a) It is alleged Archer went to Harrow County School for Boys, a well-respected state grammar
school down the hill from the public school (other alumni include Michael
Portillo and Clive Anderson). Subsequent biographies of Archer, however, just
say that he was educated "at Harrow". Alex Bateman write: "I am archivist for
the former Harrow County School and edit the Association magazine and
can assure you that Lord Archer DID NOT attend Harrow County."
b) Archer was for some years involved in the Distiguished Conduct Medal League,
a registered war charity with membership reserved for those with the medal or
their descendants who may be associate members. Biographies of Archer have
stated that his father, William Archer, had received the DCM in the First World
War. A DCM had been awarded to William Archer, however the William Archer with
the DCM was not related to Jeffrey Archer. When asked about this, Archer said "I
never talk about my father and the DCM".
c) Archer was at Oxford University for a Diploma in Physical Education.
Subsequent biographies have said that he was educated at Oxford, though it is
highly questionable whether a qualification in Physical Education counts as
education.
d) Archer was seriously in debt in 1974, and faced the threat of bankruptcy. He
retired from parliament at the second 1974 general election in order to sort out
his business affairs. He was at no time declared bankrupt.
e) At a reception in November 1993, Archer told biographer Kitty Kelley that the
did not wish to speak with her because "you live off my friends". Kelley asked
who he meant, and Archer replied "Frank Sinatra". Kelley then observed that
during her research for the biography, she never came across Archer's name.
Archer responed by walking away saying "Anyway, I don't fancy blondes."
8. Their noble lords. Which peer of the realm:
a) went to prison after hitting a psychotherapist with a hammer? (1994)
5th Baron Monkswell. As Gerry Collier he is a Labour Councillor on Manchester
City Council.
b) was a gay Communist who once started a speech "My dears" instead of "My
Lords"? (1960s)
2nd Baron Faringdon. He was also a benefactor of the satirical magazine "Private
Eye", walking in off the street to the magazine's Soho offices to hand over his
cheque for £100 in 1964.
c) died leaving two claimed heirs, both born in massage parlours in the
Philipines, though the title eventually went to a former Conservative MP?
(1991)
3rd Baron Moynihan. He claimed 5 marriages through his life, but none appeared
to be official and so no legitimate heir was found. He was also implicated in
drugs smuggling.
d) was thrown out of the Free Presbyterian Church for going to the funeral
of a Roman Catholic friend? (1988)
Baron Mackay of Clashfern, the Lord High Chancellor. The Free Presbyterian
Church is a radical Scottish offshoot which believes the Pope is the Devil.
Supporters of Lord Mackay appealed for clemency in vain.
e) resigned from the Conservative Party because it proposed to allow his
tenants to buy their freeholds? (1993)
6th Duke of Westminster. The Leasehold Reform and Urban Developement Act 1994
allows tenants of private landlords to buy the freehold even if the landlord
opposes the sale. The Duke, who owns many properties in London, regarded the
forced splitting-up of his estate as theft.
9. Political posters.
a) From which cartoon strip was the Conservative slogan "Double Whammy"
taken?
"Li'l Abner".
b) How much more tax a year would the average person pay under Labour,
according to Conservative posters in 1992?
Either £1000 or £1250.
c) What would the rate of VAT be if the Conservatives were reelected,
according to Labour posters in 1992?
22%.
d) What was the "only string attached to our policies" by Labour in 1992?
"Made in Britain".
e) Which day did nobody ever celebrate, according to the Scottish
Nationalists in 1992?
"Devolution Day"
f) What grammatical mistake was made in Labour's 1983 campaign slogan?
The slogan was "Think Positive, Act Positive, Vote Labour". The Johnny Wright
advertising agency, which thought of the slogan, had no knowledge of adverbs.
g) What consisted of a small number of Hendon Young Conservatives, and
repeated every so often?
The queue of jobless in the 1978 Conservative advertisement "Labour's not
working".
h) Name any one of "Yesterday's Men". (Not the BBC show, the poster)
Any one of: Edward Heath, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Lord Hailsham (Quintin Hogg),
Iain Macleod, Reginald Maudling or Enoch Powell.
i) Who did "People who think for themselves" vote for in 1966?
Liberal.
j) Which Prime Minister invited the electorate to put "Safety First"?
Stanley Baldwin, in 1929. The electorate declined.
10. Connections round. What do the following have in common?
a) Tony Benn, Peter Brooke, Douglas Hogg, and Bernard Jenkin paternally?
Their fathers were Cabinet ministers. Tony Benn's father, Viscount Stansgate,
was Secretary of State for Air 1945-6; Henry Brooke (father of Peter) was Home
Secretary 1962-4; Lord Hailsham, father of Douglas Hogg, was Lord High
Chancellor 1979-87; Patrick Jenkin was Environment Secretary 1983-85.
b) Mildred Gordon, Piara Khabra, John McQuade and Ernest Roberts
longevitally?
Each was very old when first elected to parliament. Mildred Gordon was 63, Piara
Khabra was 67, Ernest Roberts (who died last week) was 67. John McQuade's
precise age is unknown; he represented Belfast North for the Ulster Democratic
Unionists between 1979 and 1983 and was believed to be in his late sixties or
early seventies.
c) David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, James Callaghan and John Major
educationally?
They alone among British Prime Ministers had no university education.
d) Greville Janner, Paul Channon and Hilary Armstrong filially?
Each succeeded their father in the same parliamentary seat. Greville Janner
succeeded Sir Barnett Janner in Leicester, North-West in 1970; Paul Channon
succeeded Henry Channon in Southend, West in 1959; Hilary Armstrong succceded
Ernest Armstrong in Durham, North West Durham in 1987.
e) Peter Morrison, Patrick McNair-Wilson, John Silkin and Alf Morris
fraternally?
Each sat in the House of Commons with their brother. Peter Morrison,
Conservative MP for Chester 1974-1992 is the brother of Charles Morrison who was
MP for Devizes 1964-1992. Patrick McNair-Wilson, Conservative MP for Lewisham
West 1964-66 and New Forest from 1968 was the brother of Michael McNair-Wilson,
Conservative MP for Walthamstow East 1967-70 and Newbury 1974-92. John Silkin,
Labour MP for Deptford 1963-87 was the brother of Sam Silkin, Labour MP for
Dulwich 1964-83. Alf Morris, Labour MP for Manchester Wythenshawe from 1964, was
the brother of Charles Morris, Labour MP for Manchester Openshaw 1963-83.
11. Private Eye round. Which British politician were the following bubble
captions applied to?
a) "Mummy called me Judith because she had a lisp!"
Judith Hart. As a leftwinger in the 1960s Labour government she had been
criticised for selling out.
b) "And I tell you some of them have them this long!"
Enoch Powell. The issue was published shortly after Powell's "Rivers of Blood"
speech and showed Powell indicating a distance of approx. 2 feet.
c) "Well Marcia I've made a Lady of you at last!"
Harold Wilson.
d) "I didn't know Smith & Wesson made cameras"
Tony Benn. The picture showed Denis Healey taking a close-up photograph of Tony
Benn at the time of the Labour conference in 1980.
e) "It would be very wrong for me to comment on Mr Major's abysmal
performance"
Margaret Thatcher.
12. Fill in the blanks.
a) "There was M. Delors on the television last weekend saying that he
wanted the European Parliament to be the democratic body of the
community, he wanted the Council of Ministers to be the senate and
the Commission to be the Executive. _________________"
"No. No. No." - Margaret Thatcher in November 1990.
b) "Mr. President, I have the good fortune to be the first Liberal for
over half a century who is able to say to you at the end of our
annual assembly: ____________________________________________"
"Go back to your constituencies and prepare for Government" - David Steel in
September 1981.
c) "For those of you waiting with baited breath for that favourite of
media catchphrases, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say.
___________________________________"
"You turn if you want to. The Lady's not for turning." - Margaret Thatcher in
October 1980.
d) "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 in May 1968.
e) "We may lose the vote today. The result may deal this party a great
blow, but there are some of us, I think many of us, who will not
accept that this blow need be mortal. There are some of us, Mr.
Chairman, __________________________"
"who will fight and fight and fight again to save the party we love" - Hugh
Gaitskell in October 1960.
13. A sticky end.
a) Which former Labour MP became the victim of a mass-murderer? (1978)
Walter Scott-Elliott, Labour MP for Accrington 1945-50. He was murdered by
Archibald Thomson Hall who had gained employment as a butler on false pretences
and then proceeded to rob him. Hall eventually murdered 6; asked how he felt to
have murdered six people he replied that the first was difficult but after that
"it's just going for the Guinness Book of Records."
b) Which mass-murderer applied for a job in the opposition whips office
at the House of Commons? (1982)
Dennis Nilsen. He was refused in a one-sentence reply.
c) What was the name of the dog murdered in an attempt to silence Norman
Scott? (1975)
Rinka.
d) Which Secretary of State for Air was killed in an aviation disaster?
(1930)
1st Baron Thomson of Cardington. He was flying to India on the R101 airship when
it crashed and burst into flames at Beauvais, France.
e) Which Minister Resident in the Middle East was murdered? (1944)
Lord Moyne.
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