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Brexit Quiz - The Referendum Campaign (Questions)

Having made his promise of an "In/Out" referendum on the UK's EU membership, David Cameron had to follow through. The referendum was to be held on June 23rd 2016 and the campaigning began in April. The question put to voters would decide whether they wanted Brexit, or to remain a member of the EU.

During the campaign, promises were made by trusted politicians on the Leave side, whilst Remain focussed its attention on the benefits EU membership brought, and the disastrous consequences of a "No Deal" Brexit. However, these were dismissed as "scaremongering".

Before the vote, many assumed that Remain would easily win. Of the nineteen political parties which expressed an opinion, only four supported Leave. Opinion polls also suggested that Remain would win but, as the day grew closer, the gap between support for the two sides shrank. The referendum result would be too close to predict.

1. Parliament passed the European Union Referendum Act 2015 by 544 votes to 53. Only one party voted against the Act – which one?
[ ] The Liberal Democrats
[ ] The Scottish National Party
[ ] The Green Party
[ ] The Labour Party
2. The Electoral Commission wanted the question put to voters to be "clear and straightforward”. Which question did they opt for?
[ ] Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?
[ ] Should we Leave, or Remain in, the European Union?
[ ] Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union even without a deal?
[ ] Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union if a deal is negotiated?
3. The Electoral Commission announced the designated group for the Remain campaign two days before the campaign period began. What was the name of the group?
[ ] UK in Europe
[ ] Britain Belongs in Europe
[ ] European Movement UK
[ ] Britain Stronger in Europe
4. Vote Leave was the official campaign group of the Leave campaign. Who was its director, who went on to become senior advisor to the current PM, Boris Johnson?
[ ] Nigel Farage
[ ] Katie Hopkins
[ ] Dominic Cummings
[ ] Julia Hartley-Brewer
5. During the campaign, Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove said, “The day after we vote to leave, we hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want.” Afterwards, the Government changed its tune. Which Brexit Minister said, “Nobody has ever pretended this will be easy.”?
[ ] Sajid Javid
[ ] Andrea Leadsom
[ ] David Davis
[ ] Liz Truss
6. Prime Minister David Cameron said that if the Leave campaign won, he would stay on to negotiate Brexit. How many days after the referendum was it before Mr. Cameron declared he would resign his post?
[ ] 365 days
[ ] 120 days
[ ] 20 days
[ ] 0 days
7. Former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major both warned that which peace process could be at risk if the UK voted for Brexit?
[ ] The Northern Ireland Peace Process
[ ] The Israeli–Palestinian Peace Process
[ ] The European Peace Process
[ ] The Libyan Peace Process
8. Citizens of EU countries have the right to travel, live and work within other EU countries. What is this called?
[ ] Right to Work
[ ] Freedom of Movement
[ ] Right to Roam
[ ] Freedom to Travel
9. A poster during the campaign claimed that 5.2 million immigrants were likely to move to the UK from which country?
[ ] Norway
[ ] Turkey
[ ] Switzerland
[ ] Serbia
10. The most memorable promise made during the campaign was that the NHS would be given an extra £350 million per week. The promise was written on the side of which vehicle?
[ ] An ice-cream van
[ ] A lorry
[ ] An ambulance
[ ] A bus
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Brexit Quiz - The Referendum Campaign (Answers)
1. Parliament passed the European Union Referendum Act 2015 by 544 votes to 53. Only one party voted against the Act – which one?
[ ] The Liberal Democrats
[x] The Scottish National Party
[ ] The Green Party
[ ] The Labour Party
The SNP's position was set against any form of Brexit. It was a view shared by the majority of voters in Scotland, as you will find out in our next quiz!
2. The Electoral Commission wanted the question put to voters to be "clear and straightforward”. Which question did they opt for?
[x] Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?
[ ] Should we Leave, or Remain in, the European Union?
[ ] Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union even without a deal?
[ ] Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union if a deal is negotiated?
There was no mention of a no deal Brexit on the ballot papers. During the campaign, Nigel Farage himself said, “Iceland and Switzerland can get deals that suit them. We can do something far far better than that.”
3. The Electoral Commission announced the designated group for the Remain campaign two days before the campaign period began. What was the name of the group?
[ ] UK in Europe
[ ] Britain Belongs in Europe
[ ] European Movement UK
[x] Britain Stronger in Europe
The campaign brought together Remain politicians from many parties
4. Vote Leave was the official campaign group of the Leave campaign. Who was its director, who went on to become senior advisor to the current PM, Boris Johnson?
[ ] Nigel Farage
[ ] Katie Hopkins
[x] Dominic Cummings
[ ] Julia Hartley-Brewer
Over the years Mr. Cummings has advised Conservative politicians including former leader Iain Duncan Smith, and then Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove
5. During the campaign, Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove said, “The day after we vote to leave, we hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want.” Afterwards, the Government changed its tune. Which Brexit Minister said, “Nobody has ever pretended this will be easy.”?
[ ] Sajid Javid
[ ] Andrea Leadsom
[x] David Davis
[ ] Liz Truss
Gove was not the only MP to say negotiations would be easy. John Redwood said, "Getting out of the EU can be quick and easy – the UK holds most of the cards," Liam Fox said, "The free trade agreement that we will have to do with the European Union should be one of the easiest in human history," and David Davis himself said, "There will be no downside to Brexit, only a considerable upside"
6. Prime Minister David Cameron said that if the Leave campaign won, he would stay on to negotiate Brexit. How many days after the referendum was it before Mr. Cameron declared he would resign his post?
[ ] 365 days
[ ] 120 days
[ ] 20 days
[x] 0 days
Cameron announced that he would be standing down on the day after the referendum. However, he did not resign from his post until July 13th 2016, after a new Prime Mininster had been chosen
7. Former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major both warned that which peace process could be at risk if the UK voted for Brexit?
[x] The Northern Ireland Peace Process
[ ] The Israeli–Palestinian Peace Process
[ ] The European Peace Process
[ ] The Libyan Peace Process
The success of the Good Friday agreement is due to citizens being able to identify themselves as British, Irish or both. A no deal Brexit risked putting a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, which might bring to an end more than 20 years of peace
8. Citizens of EU countries have the right to travel, live and work within other EU countries. What is this called?
[ ] Right to Work
[x] Freedom of Movement
[ ] Right to Roam
[ ] Freedom to Travel
Freedom of Movement was one of the things the Leave campaign targetted. Voters were unhappy with the perceived level of immigration to the UK
9. A poster during the campaign claimed that 5.2 million immigrants were likely to move to the UK from which country?
[ ] Norway
[x] Turkey
[ ] Switzerland
[ ] Serbia
The claim was that Turkey would join the EU and many of its people would move to the UK.
Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987. However, negotiations have been drawn out and there is little sign their application will be approved in the forseeable future
10. The most memorable promise made during the campaign was that the NHS would be given an extra £350 million per week. The promise was written on the side of which vehicle?
[ ] An ice-cream van
[ ] A lorry
[ ] An ambulance
[x] A bus
The UK Statistics Authority wrote to Vote Leave during the referendum campaign to say the claim was “misleading and undermines trust in official statistics.” Nevertheless, in a 2019 poll by Ipsos MORI, 42% of those who heard the claim still believed it was true