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Talking Points Quiz - British Prime Ministers Quiz (Questions)

In December 2019 Britain elected its Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. He joined the ranks of statesmen and women going back to the formation of Great Britain in 1707. The General Election of 2019 was dubbed “the Brexit Election”. The Conservatives stood for “Getting Brexit Done”, along with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, while the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party championed a second referendum.

The Conservatives won a landslide victory, receiving 43% of the vote, with the “Remain” vote getting 53% but spread between several parties. The new Government had a majority of 80 seats, meaning that Boris Johnson had the largest majority since the days of Margaret Thatcher. Meanwhile, the Labour party had its worst election result since 1935.

If you are a political buff, like me, then you’ll know your Prime Ministers – but how far back can you go? This quiz will test you on ten of the most memorable Prime Ministers – some remembered for the wrong reasons!

1. Elected to office in 1783, who was the U.K.’s youngest Prime Minister?
[ ] Robert Walpole
[ ] William Grenville
[ ] William Pitt the Younger
[ ] William Pitt the Elder
2. Serving as Prime Minister from 1809 to 1812, who was the only Prime Minister to have been assassinated?
[ ] Spencer Perceval
[ ] Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
[ ] Robert Jenkinson
[ ] Charles Grey, Earl Grey
3. When this quiz was written in 2019 George Canning had had the shortest reign of any P.M. so far. How long did he serve in office?
[ ] 9 days
[ ] 19 days
[ ] 69 days
[ ] 119 days
4. P.M. from 1841 to 1846, which Prime Minister is most famed for founding the Metropolitan Police Force?
[ ] William Lamb
[ ] Robert Peel
[ ] John Russell
[ ] Edward Smith-Stanley
5. William Ewart Gladstone has been chosen as P.M. more times than any other Prime Minister. How many times?
[ ] Three times
[ ] Four times
[ ] Five times
[ ] Six times
6. Prime Minister in 1868 and again from 1874 to 1880, who was Britain's only Jewish Prime Minister?
[ ] Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquis of Salisbury
[ ] Archibald Primrose
[ ] Benjamin Disraeli
[ ] Arthur Balfour
7. Who served as Prime Minister during the majority of World War II?
[ ] David Lloyd George
[ ] Neville Chamberlain
[ ] Ramsay MacDonald
[ ] Winston Churchill
8. Which Prime Minister, a keen yachtsman, captained Britain’s team when they won the Admiral's Cup in 1971?
[ ] Edward Heath
[ ] Harold Wilson
[ ] Alec Douglas-Home
[ ] Harold Macmillan
9. Who is the only Prime Minister to have held the four highest offices in government (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and P.M.)?
[ ] John Major
[ ] Gordon Brown
[ ] James Callaghan
[ ] Tony Blair
10. Which Prime Minister graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, specialising in X-ray crystallography?
[ ] David Cameron
[ ] Margaret Thatcher
[ ] Theresa May
[ ] Boris Johnson
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Talking Points Quiz - British Prime Ministers Quiz (Answers)
1. Elected to office in 1783, who was the U.K.’s youngest Prime Minister?
[ ] Robert Walpole
[ ] William Grenville
[x] William Pitt the Younger
[ ] William Pitt the Elder
He was only 24 years old when he came to power. His father, William Pitt the Elder, also served as P.M., an office he shared with Thomas Pelham-Holles from 1757 to 1761
2. Serving as Prime Minister from 1809 to 1812, who was the only Prime Minister to have been assassinated?
[x] Spencer Perceval
[ ] Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
[ ] Robert Jenkinson
[ ] Charles Grey, Earl Grey
Perceval had a hard time in office. The “mad” King George III was on the throne, the country faced economic depression, and the Luddites were rioting in protest to the Industrial Revolution
3. When this quiz was written in 2019 George Canning had had the shortest reign of any P.M. so far. How long did he serve in office?
[ ] 9 days
[ ] 19 days
[ ] 69 days
[x] 119 days
He became Prime Minister in 1827 when George IV chose him to replace the outgoing P.M. Robert Jenkinson. However, he died less than four months after taking his post.
The record was broken by Liz Truss in 2022. She was in power for just 50 days
4. P.M. from 1841 to 1846, which Prime Minister is most famed for founding the Metropolitan Police Force?
[ ] William Lamb
[x] Robert Peel
[ ] John Russell
[ ] Edward Smith-Stanley
He actually founded the Metropolitan Police when he was Home Secretary in 1829. The police are affectionately known as “Bobbies” after their founder
5. William Ewart Gladstone has been chosen as P.M. more times than any other Prime Minister. How many times?
[ ] Three times
[x] Four times
[ ] Five times
[ ] Six times
He won the general elections in 1868, 1880, 1886, and 1892 after losing the ones in between
6. Prime Minister in 1868 and again from 1874 to 1880, who was Britain's only Jewish Prime Minister?
[ ] Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquis of Salisbury
[ ] Archibald Primrose
[x] Benjamin Disraeli
[ ] Arthur Balfour
Disraeli is credited with modernising the Conservative Party, and for introducing “One-Nation Conservatism”, whose policies claim to be for the working class as well as for the wealthy
7. Who served as Prime Minister during the majority of World War II?
[ ] David Lloyd George
[ ] Neville Chamberlain
[ ] Ramsay MacDonald
[x] Winston Churchill
Neville Chamberlain was P.M. at the beginning of the war, but he resigned in 1940. Churchill was chosen as a person who could unite all parties in the House of Commons, seeing as he was a Conservative but a former Liberal M.P.
8. Which Prime Minister, a keen yachtsman, captained Britain’s team when they won the Admiral's Cup in 1971?
[x] Edward Heath
[ ] Harold Wilson
[ ] Alec Douglas-Home
[ ] Harold Macmillan
Heath was P.M. from 1970 to 1974. However, he was replaced as leader of the Conservatives by the more right-wing Margaret Thatcher
9. Who is the only Prime Minister to have held the four highest offices in government (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and P.M.)?
[ ] John Major
[ ] Gordon Brown
[x] James Callaghan
[ ] Tony Blair
Prime Minister from 1976 to 1979, Callaghan is best remembered for the “Winter of Discontent”, when public servants' wages were capped, and strikes were common
10. Which Prime Minister graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, specialising in X-ray crystallography?
[ ] David Cameron
[x] Margaret Thatcher
[ ] Theresa May
[ ] Boris Johnson
Thatcher, known by the nickname, “The Iron Lady”, was the first female P.M. in the U.K.