So you think you know about Parliament?

Answers ...

1. Parliament is made up of:

d) House of Commons, House of Lords and Monarchy

2. The oldest part of the Parliamentary Estate is:

c) Westminster Hall, which is 900 years old. It survived the fire of 1834 when both the Lords and the Commons were destroyed.

3. The Monarch has the power to:

d) All of the above. She can appoint the Prime Minister, dissolve Parliament and declare war under Royal Prerogative – technically. But these powers are limited.

4. The last time the Monarch refused to give Royal Assent to a

piece of legislation was in:

a) 1707, when Queen Anne refused to give Royal Assent to the Scottish Militant Act

5. What is the current approximate membership of the House of

Lords?

c) 850; 790 are eligible to vote, and only 550 attend regularly

6. The House of Lords has a limited role in:

b) Approving budgets – members can “revise and initiate”...

7. Where does the Lord Chancellor sit?

c) Government front bench (Commons)- he used to sit on the Woolsack, a large, wool-stuffed cushion which is now occupied by the Lord Speaker

Chris Grayling, the current Lord Chancellor

8. How many MPs are there in the House of Commons?

b) After the General election of 2010, 650 Members of Parliament were elected

9. Approximately what percentage of MPs in the House of Commons

are female?

c) 20% - Nancy Astor was the first female to sit in the House of Commons in 1919

10. The maximum life of a Parliament is:

b) 5 years

11. During World War II the House of Commons sat in:

d) All of the above – the Commons Chamber was bombed in 1941

12. The Government is made up of:

b) All Ministers and the Whips – only people who are appointed to the Executive

13. Who is First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil

Service?

c) Prime Minister – the letterbox is on the door of Number 10, Downing Street

14. How many Prime Ministers have served the current monarch?

c) 12 – Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alex Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron.

15. The longest piece of legislation passed in recent times is:

d) Corporation Tax Act 2009 was 887 pages long

16. Who is the only person who is allowed an alcoholic drink in the House of Commons Chamber?

c) Chancellor of the Exchequer – no idea why!

17. Where can you see the four surviving copies of the 1215 Magna

Carta?d) All of these - usually

Sealed in England in 1215, the Magna Carta became the most important charter of human rights in history and the foundation of democracy in the world. In this 800th anniversary year the copies in Lincoln and Salisbury Cathedrals have joined the two copies held by the British Library in a major exhibition.

18. Proceedings in the House of Commons were first televised in:

c) 1989

19. Who is the odd one out?

c) Kate Winslet is the odd one out – the others have given evidence at select committees

Select committee for drugs

Select committee for climate change

Select committee for health

20. What is the significance of the owls that keeps appearing...?

The collective term for a group of owls is “A Parliament of Owls”