How Closely Did You Follow Politics In 2020?

3 min read21 December 2020

If you want to know how dramatic 2020 has been, the Chancellor of the Exchequer resigned, and this quiz doesn’t have room for a question about it. It might feel like year you want to forget, but before you open a bottle of Speaker Hoyle’s malt to wipe your memory completely, why not find out how much of it you can remember, with our Quiz of the Year? Answers at the bottom of the page.

According to Dominic Cummings in January, who or what were “lying in the street”?
1. The corpses of his enemies
2. Tory MPs
3. Trillion-dollar bills
4. Freaks and weirdos
To which of these people was Boris Johnson NOT compared in 2020:
1. Theoden
2. Neville Chamberlain
3. Moses
4. Winston Churchill
Who finished 2019 by killing a fox with a baseball bat while wearing a green kimono?
1. Priti Patel
2. Jolyon Maugham
3. Dominic Cummings
4. Jeremy Hunt
Since Keir Starmer became Labour leader, how many members of the front bench have resigned or been sacked?
1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 7
Where did Dominic Cummings claim to have recruited a network of spies?
1. SW1 restaurants
2. Parliament
3. SAGE
4. China
How much money did Rishi Sunak set aside for coronavirus in his March Budget?
1. £12 billion
2. £24 billion
3. £36 billion
4. £48 billion
Which of these things DIDN’T Boris Johnson say?
1. “We need to squash this sombrero”
2. “We're working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong”
3. “Don't tear the pants out of it and don't go further than the guidance actually says’”
4. “The best thing we can all do is wash our hands for 20 seconds with soap and water”
Who was the first MP to ask a question remotely?
1. Simon Hart
2. Marco Longhi
3. Ian Blackford
4. David Mundell
Who did Dominic Cummings say would do a better job than the Cabinet?
1. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
2. Freaks and weirdos
3. Paw Patrol
4. PJ Masks
Who was the first MP to fail to ask a question of the prime minister remotely, due to technical problems?
1. Simon Hart
2. Marco Longhi
3. Ian Blackford
4. David Mundell
“I always try think of something else -- recite some poetry.” Who, on their approach to what?
1. Boris Johnson, getting injections
2. Jonathan Van-Tam, preparing for TV appearances
3. Jacqui Smith, waiting to go on stage for Strictly
4. Iain Duncan Smith, voting against the government
How did Matt Hancock characterise Dominic Cummings’s trip to Durham?
1. “A clear breach of both the letter and the spirit of lockdown rules”
2. “Understandable in the circumstances”
3. “Entirely right”
4. “The desperate act of a desperate man”
When Gavin Williamson posed for photos in the wake of the A-Levels fiasco, there was a great deal of comment about the objects in the photo. Which of the following could NOT be seen?
1. His pet tarantula
2. A whip
3. A mysterious little red book
4. His hands
When some MPs wanted a Big Ben to chime in the end of Britain’s EU membership, how much did Lindsay Hoyle estimate each “bong” would cost?
1. £40,000
2. £50,000
3. £60,000
4. £70,000
What, according to the Sunday Times, does Dominic Cummings like to do as he leaves a room?
1. Play a riff on an imaginary guitar
2. Blow the smoke from an imaginary pistol, and then put it in an imaginary holster
3. Text Tim Shipman from an imaginary phone
4. Pull the pin from an imaginary hand grenade, and toss it behind him
What two books did Dominic Cummings instruct every special adviser to buy and read, warning them that they would be tested on their knowledge?
1. Superfreakonomics/When Genius Failed
2. Superforecasting/High Output Management
3. Superintelligence/How To Win Friends and Influence People
4. Superlife/Getting Things Done
No independent MPs were elected in 2019. As of Dec. 1, how many were there?
1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 6
Who was the second person to receive the Covid vaccine in Britain?
1. William Shakespeare
2. Percy Shelley
3. Jane Austen
4. Charles Dickens.
Which of these people did NOT lead UKIP in 2020?
1. Neil Hamilton
2. Patricia Mountain
3. Richard Braine
4. Freddy Vachha
In the November Spending Review, how much money was the government committed to spending on coronavirus measures in 2020-21?
1. £120 billion
2. £200 billion
3. £280 billion
4. £360 billion

Answers:

HOW DID YOU SCORE?

15-20 Barnard Castle, 10-15 Barnaby Rudge, 5-10 Barney Rubble, 0-5 Barney Gumble

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