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Students Zone - Self test questions
Use these questions both to test your detailed knowledge of each chapter. Make a note of your answers and then consult the answers page on this website. If you score less than 12 correct answers for any chapter, you probably need to spend more time re-reading and revising its contents.
CHAPTER 17: How Elections Are Decided
1. Voting opportunities are:
a) Becoming greater in Britain
b) Are become less common in Britain
c) Have not changed much over time
2. The age of eligibility to vote was last changed in:
a) 1918
b) 1969
c) 1997
3. To be eligible to vote an elector must:
a) Ensure that his or her name is on the electoral register
b) Check that his or her name is on the electoral register
c) Provide proof of identity such as a birth certificate or driving licence
4. There is:
a) A maximum period governing the gap between General Elections
b) A maximum but no minimum period governing the gap
c) Both a maximum and minimum period governing the gap
5. There is:
a) A regulated maximum which a candidate can spend in any constituency over a prescribed period during a General Election
b) A regulated maximum which a party may spend nationally over a prescribed period during a General Election campaign
c) Regulations governing the maximum amounts that can be spent at both constituency and national level
6. General Elections are fought in:
a) 459 constituencies
b) 559 constituencies
c) 659 constituencies
7. The formal length of a General Election campaign has:
a) Not changed since the First World War
b) Lengthened greatly since the First World War
c) Reduced since the First World War
8. Manifestoes are:
a) A very poor guide to what a party does once in government
b) A very good guide to what a party does once in government
c) A reasonably good guide to what a party does once in government
9. National campaigning:
a) Has become more important than constituency campaigning over recent decades
b) Has become less important than constituency campaigning
c) The balance of importance between the two has not changed
10. Non-voters are:
a) A tiny proportion of the electorate
b) The majority of the electorate
c) A substantial minority of the electorate
11. Identification with the two main political parties is:
a) Growing
b) Declining
c) Remaining constant over time
12. The manual working class is:
a) An increasing proportion of the electorate
b) A decreasing proportion of the electorate
c) Showing no proportional change over time
13. Voting behaviour in different parts of the United Kingdom is:
a) Becoming more uniform
b) Becoming more varied
c) Showing no change in diversity or uniformity over time
14. The gender gap between Conservative and Labour in voting is over the long term:
a) Widening in favour of the Conservatives
b) Widening in favour of the Labour Party
c) Disappearing between the two parties
15. Judgements about comparative economic competence:
a) Damaged the Conservative Party electorally in the 1990s
b) Damaged Labour electorally in the 1990s
c) Made no difference to the fortunes of either party in the 1990s
