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Defectors Trivia Quiz

A quiz about British Members of Parliament who have defected to other Parties.

A multiple-choice quiz by Mullaney. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Mullaney

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
170,418

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
377

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams were the "Gang of Four" former Labour Cabinet Ministers who formed the SDP in 1981. But only two of them were Labour MPs at the time of their defection. Which two? Hint

Owen and Williams

Jenkins and Williams

Owen and Rodgers

Jenkins and Owen

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Question 2 of 10

2. How many sitting Labour MPs defected to the SDP? Hint

118

128

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Question 3 of 10

3. Who was the only sitting Conservative MP to defect to the SDP? Hint

Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler

John Grant

Ian Gilmour

Richard Crawshaw

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which female Conservative MP defected to the Liberal Democrats in 1995? Hint

Dame Jill Knight

Emma Nicholson

Marion Roe

Angela Rumbold

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which Cabinet Minister in the 1974-79 Labour government defected to the Conservative Party? Hint

Tony Benn

David Howell

Edmund Dell

Reg Prentice

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Question 6 of 10

6. Dennis Skinner was an MP for the Socialist Workers Party before defecting to Labour.

True

False

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Question 7 of 10

7. Conservative MP John Horam has represented all three main parties in Parliament

True

False

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Question 8 of 10

8. In 1996 this Conservative MP defected to the Liberal Democrats. Who was it?

Answer: (Two words: first and last names)

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Question 9 of 10

9. George Gardiner, the then Conservative MP for Reigate, defected to which Party in 1997? Hint

Communist Party of Great Britain

Pro Euro Conservative Party

Referendum Party

UK Independence Party

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Question 10 of 10

10. Who was the Conservative MP for Witney who, following his sacking from the Conservative Frontbench, defected to Labour in 1999? Hint

Nicholas Winterton

Alan Howarth

Shaun Woodward

Gerald Howarth

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Owen and Rodgers

David Owen was MP for Plymouth Devonport at the time of his defection to the SDP. Bill Rodgers was MP for Stockton.
Shirley Williams had been defeated at Hertford and Stevenage in 1979. Jenkins had resigned his Birmingham Stetchford seat in the 1970s to become President of the European Commission.

2. How many sitting Labour MPs defected to the SDP?

Answer: 28

28 out of 269 Labour MPs (or just over 10% of the Parliamentary Labour Party) defected to the SDP in 1981-2.

3. Who was the only sitting Conservative MP to defect to the SDP?

Answer: Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler

Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler, who was Conservative MP for
North-West Norfolk, defected to the SDP. Grant and Crawshaw were Labour MPs who defected to the SDP. Gilmour was a left-wing Conservative MP who remained within the Conservative Party.

4. Which female Conservative MP defected to the Liberal Democrats in 1995?

Answer: Emma Nicholson

Emma Nicholson, who was Conservative MP for West Devon and Torridge, defected to the Lib Dems in 1995. Her defection led to her getting into a series of bizarre arguments with a number of her former Conservative colleagues - including Angela Rumbold who, along with Roe and Knight was a Conservative MP at the time. Nicholson published a book after her defection called "The Secret Society" in which she heavily criticised her former party.

5. Which Cabinet Minister in the 1974-79 Labour government defected to the Conservative Party?

Answer: Reg Prentice

Prentice, who was deselected by his local Labour Party in Newham, defected to the Conservatives. Benn, a left-wing Labour Cabinet Minister, and Dell, a right-wing Labour Cabinet Minister, did not defect to the Conservatives. Howell was Conservative MP for Guildford.

6. Dennis Skinner was an MP for the Socialist Workers Party before defecting to Labour.

Answer: False

Though he is on the radical Left Wing of his Party, Dennis Skinner, the MP for Bolsover, has only ever represented Labour in Parliament.

7. Conservative MP John Horam has represented all three main parties in Parliament

Answer: True

Horam, the Conservative MP for Orpington, was a Labour MP in Gateshead, before defecting to the Social Democratic Party in 1981. He was defeated at the 1983 General Election and later defected to the Conservatives, being selected as Conservative Candidate for Orpington at the 1992 General Election.

8. In 1996 this Conservative MP defected to the Liberal Democrats. Who was it?

Answer: Peter Thurnham

Thurnham was the MP for Bolton North-East.

9. George Gardiner, the then Conservative MP for Reigate, defected to which Party in 1997?

Answer: Referendum Party

Gardiner, a Eurosceptic right-winger, was the only MP to join Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party.

10. Who was the Conservative MP for Witney who, following his sacking from the Conservative Frontbench, defected to Labour in 1999?

Answer: Shaun Woodward

Woodward defected to the Labour Party after he was sacked from the Conservative Frontbench for refusing to support the retention of Section 28. Alan Howarth had defected to Labour in 1995. Gerald Howarth and Nicholas Winterton were - and still are - very right-wing Conservative MPs who are unlikely to defect to even "New" Labour.

Woodward's defection perhaps acts as a warning to any MP contemplating leaving their party. Woodward was found a safe Labour seat in St Helens - which he still represents in Parliament - but is confined to relative obscurity on the backbenches.

Source: Author Mullaney

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