British Prime Ministers Quiz

9/53. I am obviously American.

12/53, and I'm American. At least I beat the average of three for Americans.

16/53 for this Yank (and a southerner, no less)

Same except I'm from Pennsylvania

2/53, I'm American (I only got 2 because Churchill was elected twice)

oh my gosh :'D

9, Australian, though with a lot of stereotypical English name guessing

23/53 but personally I think this is a bit excessive.

53/53 and I'm Irish

9/53, also American.

ikr I had to learn it for ages to get all right

@Jack: Was just listening to that song today, didn't know I'd be taking the quiz though. Always loved that song because my first name is Heath, so when I was a child (I'm an American to boot), I thought it was so cool; although my last name isn't Heath, so I tolerated that part.

I'm an American and I got 17. And I'm 12 years old. I can't believe that only 34% got Walpole.

I'm 11. I got 43 =D

Also American =D

Can you accept Simon Cowell for all the answers?

It does

Should be MARQUIS of Rockingham, not MARQUESS. Good quiz though.

For the most part it is marquis in France, marquess in Great Britain. Feminine counterparts are marquise and marchioness.

Did he live in a marquee?

Marquis of Salisbury should be Marquess of Salisbury.

Wait... weren't Harriet Jones and Harold Saxon in there somewhere?

Harold Saxon was erased from history.

I tried those

25, not bad at all :) . Interesting fact: Spencer Perceval is the only British PM to have been assassinated, shot while he was walking into the house of commons (yeah, that's the only reason I know about him...)

North was the ugliest PM. Yes - worse than Brown.

boris?

I got 4 but I live in cali so all g00d

I got 7. And yes, I am from Northern Ireland, in the UK. *facepalm*

I got 9!! And I live in London. I only guessed earl grey as a joke :-)

9/53 Like a true brit! got the 5 most recent, lloyd george, churchill and some earls by accident. Good thing I'm a Biochem student and not doing history.

Only got 13. Got Asquith because he just popped into my head, and can't believe I forgot Disraeli, I just learned about him last week.

13. I'm American, and I need to learn more about British Politics.

I legitimately tried to write "Harriet Jones."

XD

After getting Cameron, Blair, Thatcher, Churchill and Chamberlain....I was down to Guy Fawkes and Robin of Locksley. :-) Should have remembered Disraeli and Robert Peel, though. If not for Peel, there'd be no "bobbies", IIRC.

I'm belgian and I remembered only 8, some famous ones like Disraeli, Lloyd George and Churchill and most of the recent ones (from Thatcher but I had already forgotten the existence of Gordon Brown...).

Hahaha only got Margaret Thatcher, D. Lloyd George and Winston Churchill... i suck at this.

Got a lot by guessing common british surnames and english cities

As an American I could name 11, but honestly why would I keep up on the politics of another country when I'm busy keeping up with my own? Still willing to take your quiz despite the snark

All these dukes and earls did not have real names?

They definitely had real names too: Earl of Wilmington = Spencer Compton; Duke of Newcastle = Thomas Pelham-Holles; Duke of Devonshire = William Cavendish; Earl of Bute = John Stuart; Marquess of Rockingham = Charles Watson-Wentworth; Duke of Grafton = Augustus Fitzroy; Earl of Shelburne = William Petty; Duke of Portland = William Cavendish-Bentinck; Lord Liverpool = Robert Banks; Jenkinson; Viscount Goderich = Frederick John Robinson; Duke of Wellington = Arthur Wellesley; Earl Grey = Charles Grey; Lord Melbourne = William Lamb; Earl of Derby = Edward Smith-Stanley; Earl of Aberdeen = George Hamilton-Gordon; Lord Palmerston = Henry John Temple; Marquess (not Marquis) of Salisbury = Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil; Earl of Rosebery = Archibald Philip Primrose

I thought Earl Grey's real name was Mr. T.

I got Pitt the Elder and Lord Palmerston thanks to The Simpsons.

Me too.

I made a quiz specifically about that episode - check it out: http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/102112/simpsons-mlb-softball-ringers

Churchill - facepalm!

I don't think we have any Bonar Laws in the US, though after the Anthony Weiner scandal some have suggested we might need some.

brrrm-tish!

Now THAT is funny.

Boris Johnson or Rory Stewart may become the second.

Strong supporter of the Peelite party here, because if you're going to drink piss anyway then you might as well avoid the high-calorie stuff.

All with 2:38 left, and I am an American. So there.

Maybe to entice you to take the quiz and prove him wrong? Since 94+% of test takers got Churchill, Blair, Cameron and Thatcher.. and 87% got Brown.. I'd wager most Americans know at least 4. Or at least most Americans taking this quiz do. Average score is 21.

Maybe. I think given enough time to think about it most could come up with at least 3. Churchill, Chamberlain, Thatcher and Blair are all pretty famous in America.

American and I got 24!

43. Not bad for an American. Am I right?

51/53- English men who forget the obvious answers i.e. Macmillan and home. Darn

The only reason I knew Wilson and Heath is from the Beatles' song "Taxman".

Good quiz. Knew them all from World War One to present day (handy for pub quizzes) plus famous ones like Gladstone, Disraeli, Peel, Pitt and Walpole. Finally nailed the remainder. Did the same for the US Presidents and Soviet leaders. I just love history and facts!

Ended up with 10 but upon review I probably should gotten...um...10

Is it just coincidence, or are prime ministers not allowed to serve 2 consecutive terms? I noticed that multiple prime ministers on the list serving more than once are never consecutive. Thanks

Perhaps it is the same as with president Grover Cleveland.

I believe this is wrong. My understanding may be imperfect, but from what I know the Prime Minister is not directly elected. They are simple the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons. People vote for representatives in the House of Commons like Americans elect Congressmen. The non-consecutive terms you see are not the result of term limits but rather the natural outcome of swings in power between competing parties. For a more analagous comparison look at the history of the president pro tempore of the Senate. It was Robert Byrd in the 101st-103rd Congresses. Then Republicans gained a majority and it became Strom Thurmond. Democrats took over again in the 107th and it was once again Byrd, and then Thurmond, and then Byrd, and then Ted Stevens, and then Byrd again who finally died.

In Australia, Federal parliament has 150 seats, and the country is split into 150 electorates. In each electorate, 1 candidate (usually Labor or Coalition) gets elected, filling the 150 seats. Whichever party out of Labor or the Coalition gets the most candidates elected wins, and their leader becomes Prime Minister. I assume that the system in the UK works the same. In the US, does everyone just vote for who they want to be President, and then you have separate elections for the other federal politicians?

Yes Steve, that's (almost correct). The US holds federal elections every 2 years. Presidents are elected every 4. American citizens vote directly for who they want to be president and vice president (they come as a package deal since 1864. Prior to this the president and VP were elected separately, and before 1804 the VP was simply the runner-up in the presidential election); after they vote, then the president is selected by the electoral college, which contains electors from each state. These electors tend to vote the same way as the voters from their state vote, but it's a bit of an overcomplicated system and you can end up wit cases where a presidential candidate wins in the electoral college even when they lost the popular vote (as was the case with George Bush in 2000). Senators and Representatives in the House are elected by their constituents directly by popular vote. They have nothing to do with who occupies the White House, though (some) are elected at the same time.

update: Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million votes, but still won the presidency due to the very out-dated electoral college system, saddling the US with its worst president in history. This thing is very overdue to be repealed.

No, several have served multiple consecutive terms. Thatcher served 11 years, Blair served 10 years, Lord Liverpool (1812-27) served 15 years, Pitt the Younger for 17. They continued as Prime Minister through three or more election victories. There are no term limits, becaue the Prime Minister is the leader of the party with the most seats, so how long he or she serves (subject to the will of the electorate) is up to them or their political party. Non-consecutive terms are much more common in British politics than American. In the recent election, three losing party leaders resigned. This practice is only a recent development, and throughout history party leaders who lost an election often held on to their leadership posts and won next time, causing a plethora of non-consecutive terms (such as Wilson winning in '74 after losing in '70, and Gladstone repeatedly alternating with Disraeli and Salisbury from the 1860s through to the 90s).

That is a very succinct and clear explanation Larry.

@Hollandprojects ... and, to explain more clearly, this list doesn't show the consecutive terms separately. Neither does the quiz of US Presidents.

Thanks for the replies!

I posted a comment here but it was deleted, maybe because the comment I was responding to was deleted. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has most seats in the House of Commons. The entirety of the House of Commons is elected in a general election with one MP (Member of Parliament) representing each constituency (an area that is occasionally redefined, and should have a population roughly equal to other constituencies - currently the average is about 100 000). If the same party wins many consecutive elections and it doesn't replace its leader the PM can serve as long as they want. General Elections are every five years by default but if 2/3 of the House of Commons vote for an early General Election then there will be one, as happened last year when Theresa May decided she wanted a bigger majority and called an early election. Labour agreed to it and the parliament ended after two years of power. In the next election Labour gained 30 seats and there was a hung parliament

My father knew Lloyd George's grandson.

i got 3

I got 4 and I am an American child.

I just randomly typed in William Smith

I'd heard of more than I got, but still did pathetically for a Brit. I haven't been around that long, though - I imagine people older than me would simply remember people before Major being in office.

Got 5/53 and I'm American

I'm American I only got Churchill

23/53 and I'm British. Got every one from Asquith to present day, all later than that were complete guesses I suppose. Don't really see the need to know them, happy with the ones I did get.

4/53 - Super fine!

David Cameron has resigned, Prepare to update it once he actually leaves office and his replacement is announced

Theresa May - like Ming the Merciless in shoulder pads.

Ming had a personality. Not a very ncie one, but a personality. TM was just a vacant shell.

Theresa May is the PM? When did she get announced?

Not yet. She's becoming PM tomorrow

Where is this Canda you speak of? Is it like Candy Land?

americans only know 3 because they only care about their own country

So I guess some people in America don't have the knowledge of foreign leaders like u do. But does that mean we don't care about other countries?

Joejoe needs a hug. Making comments about the supposed ignorance of Americans only makes you yourself look ignorant. I cannot for the life of me understand why none of you America-bashers ever sense the irony in your "Americans are bad because think they are so much better than everyone else. How dare they? Now here's why we're so much better than Americans..." rants. It would be amusing if it weren't so sad.

Americans only know 3 because they are humans much like any other, and they care about things that are relevant to their own lives. Brits can name more than 3 US presidents because US presidents are more relevant internationally. But how many kings of Nepal can you name?

So extremely bored of this cliche that Americans are more ignorant of the world than anyone else. It's just so laughably demonstrably false. I've been traveling through Europe and the Near East for nearly 2 years now. I get asked all the time where I drove my car from and when I say "Bahrain," I think... of the hundreds of Europeans who asked me that question, maybe ONE has known that Bahrain was a country or where it was located. When I tell *Europeans* that I am in Thessaloniki, or Odessa, or Minsk, or Vilnius, or Riga, I can't believe it but the most common response is "where?" You don't even know you're own continent! Americans don't know where Vilnius is, either, but they know Las Vegas! (same population)

True

I can't help it that American cities are more famous than yours. There's no good reason for you to not have heard of Thessaloniki, Odessa, or St Petersburg. Meanwhile Minsk, Vilnius, and Riga are all national capitals and I've lost count of how many times I've read some indignant European complaining that every micronation of Europe is important to know because they are sovereign nations, unlike US states. But if this were true then it is disproven by their own ignorance of said sovereign nations as like I mentioned whenever I was in some major city in Eastern Europe at least half the Europeans I spoke to in other countries didn't know where I was.

someone: if you ask any American where Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, or Vancouver is I bet 95% would at least be able to tell you Canada. A similar proportion would know that Mexico City, Juarez, or Tijuana were in Mexico. I had people in neighboring countries in Eastern Europe not know where I was when I was in some of those cities I listed.

Whereas we Germans know them all by heart, as any sane and sensitive person does.

Former Home Secretary and now the leader of the Conservative party, which means she's PM

The one who just sat there whilst everyone else dropped out of the leadership race, thus becoming our current unelected PM.

Americans know three? I knew 1! (They don't teach anything about British prime ministers in history class...)

That's a really bad excuse in my opinion. Just because they don't teach you about certain things in school (say British prime ministers or politics in other countries) doesn't mean that you can't read and educate yourself about it! I'm from Sweden and they didn´t teach us all about the British prime ministers either, but a new quite a few from reading history, news and books about the world. You should do the same!

It would be interesting to see quiz stats based on quizzers' countries. Maybe add "home country" when registering as a user, or maybe the system could work that out anyway?

That is a good idea! You should tell Quizmaster!😀

I think if you added a 'home country' box people would type random countries for the fun of it.

It's all for fun, anyway, Matthew. Not a bad idea.

That's not true. Maybe they didn't in your history classes, or maybe you just weren't paying attention, but I know for a fact when I was in school we at least learned the names of Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and Margaret Thatcher. I also distinctly remember Pitt the Elder/Younger coming up, as well as the Duke of Wellington, and I think maybe Disraeli. I recall learning about the Balfour Declaration so we probably read his name, too.

Did you learn in school that the Duke of Wellington was prime minister? I definitely remember learning in some detail about his victory at Waterloo, but I don't recall learning he was prime minister. I was surprised to see him on this list only because it seems like something my teachers should have mentioned when discussing him, even if the focus was on his military exploits.

can't remember. But we definitely learned about him.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!! 100%!!!!! I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! Looked at wikipedia throught though, LOLLL

I'm so sad Theresa May is PM. The UK as we know it has ended.

Don't worry. Boris Johnson is in charge now.

We've replaced the worst PM in living memory with a man who was our worst ever foreign secretary. Fail, abysmally, at one job and have your party decide you are the ideal man to run the country. Genius. This can only end well.

A lot of the bad things Theresa May did were ultimately David Cameron's fault. I'd say he was worse than Theresa May, at least in his second term.

GOt 8.

it will have to be updated soon. :(

Quite impressed I got 24, although I was helped 'cos here in Scarborough there's an area where all the streets are named after them :)

Ha! An American got more than three! I got ten...

Seems like the Earl of Derby just couldn't decide what he wanted to do with his life.

Didn't get too many, but by randomly picking common names like Brown, Smith, Campbell, George, Wilson, I got a few more!

i got 2

0/54 :)

Most of these are just New Zealand and Australian cities

Almost certainly.

That's how I got him.

Ah, I was wondering why he's so famous compared to next highest guesses.

Honestly everyone should be able to figure out there was a guy named Peel from looking at the political parties key. Guessing "Smith" gets you another free one.

This Englishman got 44 but I think I was helped by the fact that my son had to do some research on British PMs a few days ago. Never knew homework could have a positive effect.

44

This will need an update in a month or two as Theresa May is resigning this Friday. She will remain prime minister until the new Conservative Party leader is elected.

Nigel Farage is preparing!

Where is Lord Blackadder?

Finally memorized them all.

Should be Marquess of Salisbury, not Marquis of Salisbury. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gascoyne-Cecil,_3rd_Marquess_of_Salisbury

Unfortunately needs to be updated to include Boris Johnson (he will become the PM tomorrow).

Ruined a perfectly good quiz!

In fairness the quiz already had quite a few answers that were to say the least unfortunate.

Got only Churchill, but unlike other comments I am not American.

I think the average American over 30 would at least know Churchill, Thatcher, Blair and May. With many being able to name Cameron, Brown, Chamberlain, Major, Disraeli, and Boris. And a few being able to name some others.

I think Americans will remember Boris Johnson pretty well for being the British equivalent of a certain US political figure... Of course, they aren't exactly the same, but they do have their similarities

I heard it said that Boris only pretends to be stupid, so as to be endearing or as a political ploy. Trump tries (and fails) to look smart, but is in reality spectacularly stupid.

How did Johnson get elected? I thought he was deeply unpopular. Is he liked by conservatives?

He wasn't elected by the general population, only by the Conservative Party. And yes, he is liked by conservatives.

I understood the procedure just surprised that anyone likes him. But I'm still surprised daily by the amount of support Trump gets from Republicans.

It is at least partially because he was one of the leading figures in the campaign to leave the EU. Jeremy Hunt supported remain. And there is the Trump-ness aspect as well. There are many similarities between Johnson and Trump, though obviously Trump is worse.

I guess many people support him because "politicians are all corrupt and politics is a farce anyway". They feel that guys like Trump and Johnson "bring some fresh air" and construe their lack of manners and low intellectual level as "being honest".

Ironic, then, that Trump and to a lesser extent BoJo are two of the least honest politicians I can think of.

Hence the ironic quotes.

Common tactic by fascists and other dishonest people. Liars will try to get you to believe that everyone lies. The corrupt will try to convince you that everyone is corrupt. Those detached from reality will try to get you to believe in alternative facts or that everything is subjective and partisan.

markasol - you are right about Johnson.

He's hugely popular amongst Conservatives, though detested by many of them too. Last poll I saw found him still to be the most popular Conservative in the country at large too, and the Tories are terrified of getting wiped out at the next election so, despite him being a loose cannon, they are playing it safe in a way. Not sure if his schtick translates at all internationally but he has a certain articulate but bumbling charisma that people here seem to warm to in spite of his many flaws and frequent gaffes. And after a string of charisma-free vacuums for PM it's totally possible that people will choose to vote for Bojo the clown come election time. Everything's felt like a circus for the last few years anyway...

Bojo or Corbyn. That's really not much of a choice at all. In an ideal world you would tell both parties to go away and come back with sensible leaders.

MoSt AMerIcAns oNly KnOW ThREe

How long, I wonder, before this quiz has to be updated again?

hahha! yes hopefully very very soon. The Clown has arrived.

American and got 12 right. 6 I knew and 6 I just guessed popular last names.

55/55! I've been studying each prime-minister and what they're known for for months :)

54/55, ran out of time. Slow typer

12 out of 55 and im english

Looks like William Gladstone is overdue to be re-elected again.