← Life in the UK study appAll practice tests

Life in the UK Practice Test 28 (2026) — free, with answers

24 original practice questions in the official Life in the UK Test formats — multiple choice, select TWO, TRUE or FALSE and “which statement is correct”. The real test has 24 questions in 45 minutes with a 75% pass mark (18 of 24). Every answer below includes an explanation. Written from the official study material; no log-in, completely free.

Take this interactively — timed mocks, audio & progress tracking

1. Which clan was late in taking the oath to William and was massacred as a result?

  1. The MacDonalds of Glencoe
  2. The MacGregors of Argyll
  3. The Campbells of Inveraray
  4. The Stewarts of Appin
Show answer

Answer: A — The MacDonalds of Glencoe

The MacDonalds of Glencoe were late in taking the oath and were all killed; the memory of the massacre made some Scots distrust the new government.

2. The Declaration of Rights, read at William and Mary's coronation, meant the monarch could no longer do which TWO things without Parliament's consent?

  1. Collect taxes
  2. Run the courts
  3. Command the navy
  4. Travel abroad
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Collect taxes; Run the courts

From that moment no monarch could collect taxes or run the courts without Parliament's consent; the Bill of Rights put the balance into law in 1689.

3. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. After 1689, Parliament ruled that every future monarch had to be a Protestant.
  2. After 1689, the monarch alone decided who would inherit the crown.
Show answer

Answer: A — After 1689, Parliament ruled that every future monarch had to be a Protestant.

Parliament took charge of the throne itself: it decided who could wear the crown and required every future king or queen to be a Protestant.

4. After the Bill of Rights, how often did a fresh Parliament have to be elected?

  1. At least every three years
  2. At least every year
  3. At least every ten years
  4. Only when the monarch chose
Show answer

Answer: A — At least every three years

The limit was at least every three years, later stretched to seven years; today it is five.

5. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? After 1689 the money that paid for the army and the navy had to be approved by Parliament every year.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: A — TRUE

Annual approval of army and navy funding was one of the ways Parliament secured its position against the Crown.

6. Which TWO rival groups dominated politics after the Glorious Revolution, marking the start of party politics in Britain?

  1. The Whigs
  2. The Tories
  3. The Roundheads
  4. The Jacobites
Show answer

Answer: A and B — The Whigs; The Tories

The Whigs and the Tories were the two rival groups; the modern Conservative Party is still often called the Tories.

7. From which year did a newspaper in Britain no longer need a government licence to print?

  1. 1695
  2. 1689
  3. 1707
  4. 1721
Show answer

Answer: A — 1695

From 1695 newspapers no longer needed a licence, and their numbers grew quickly — the beginning of a free press.

8. What is meant by 'a free press'?

  1. Newspapers and other publications that the government does not control
  2. Newspapers that are given away without charge
  3. Publications printed only by Parliament
  4. Papers that carry no advertising
Show answer

Answer: A — Newspapers and other publications that the government does not control

A free press means newspapers and other publications that are not controlled by the government.

9. What name is given to the system created by the laws passed after the Glorious Revolution?

  1. A constitutional monarchy
  2. An absolute monarchy
  3. A republic
  4. A federation
Show answer

Answer: A — A constitutional monarchy

Under a constitutional monarchy the king or queen still mattered enormously but could no longer force through a policy that Parliament refused.

10. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. In the 18th century only men who owned property above a certain value could vote.
  2. In the 18th century all adult men and women could vote.
Show answer

Answer: A — In the 18th century only men who owned property above a certain value could vote.

The vote belonged only to men owning property above a certain value, and no women could vote at all — nowhere near democracy as we know it.

11. Which TWO terms described unrepresentative parliamentary seats in the 18th century?

  1. Pocket boroughs
  2. Rotten boroughs
  3. Free boroughs
  4. Crown boroughs
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Pocket boroughs; Rotten boroughs

'Pocket boroughs' were effectively the private property of one wealthy family; 'rotten boroughs' had almost no voters living in them.

12. In which year did Jewish families settle in London, forming the first Jewish community in Britain since the Middle Ages?

  1. 1656
  2. 1689
  3. 1707
  4. 1720
Show answer

Answer: A — 1656

Jewish families settled in London in 1656.

13. Which TWO kinds of work did many Huguenot arrivals find in Britain?

  1. Science and banking
  2. Weaving and other crafts
  3. Farming and mining
  4. Shipbuilding and railways
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Science and banking; Weaving and other crafts

Many Huguenots were educated, skilled people who worked as scientists, in banking, in weaving and in other crafts.

14. Who succeeded William and Mary?

  1. Queen Anne
  2. George I
  3. George II
  4. Charles II
Show answer

Answer: A — Queen Anne

Queen Anne succeeded them, and none of her children survived her — which left the succession in doubt.

15. What was the new kingdom created by the Act of Union of 1707 called?

  1. The Kingdom of Great Britain
  2. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
  3. The Commonwealth
  4. The Kingdom of England and Scotland
Show answer

Answer: A — The Kingdom of Great Britain

The Act of Union — the Treaty of Union to Scots — joined the two kingdoms into the Kingdom of Great Britain.

16. Why did Parliament choose George I as king in 1714?

  1. He was Queen Anne's closest Protestant relative
  2. He was Anne's eldest son
  3. He had won a war against France
  4. He was elected by the people
Show answer

Answer: A — He was Queen Anne's closest Protestant relative

Parliament — not bloodline alone — picked George I, a German prince who was Anne's closest Protestant relative.

17. Why did George I have to lean heavily on his ministers?

  1. He spoke little English
  2. He was still a child
  3. He lived permanently abroad
  4. He was ill throughout his reign
Show answer

Answer: A — He spoke little English

George I spoke little English, and the minister who led for him in Parliament came to be called the Prime Minister.

18. For how long did Sir Robert Walpole serve as Prime Minister?

  1. From 1721 to 1742
  2. From 1707 to 1714
  3. From 1745 to 1760
  4. From 1689 to 1702
Show answer

Answer: A — From 1721 to 1742

Sir Robert Walpole was the first man to hold the title, from 1721 to 1742.

19. Bonnie Prince Charlie, who landed in Scotland in 1745, was the grandson of which king?

  1. James II
  2. Charles II
  3. George I
  4. William III
Show answer

Answer: A — James II

Charles Edward Stuart was a grandson of James II; he raised an army from the Highland clans against George II.

20. Which TWO things happened to the Highland clans after Culloden?

  1. Chieftains who kept the king's favour became landlords
  2. Clansmen became tenants paying rent
  3. The clans were given seats in Parliament
  4. The clans were resettled in Ireland
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Chieftains who kept the king's favour became landlords; Clansmen became tenants paying rent

Culloden broke the clan system: chieftains turned into landlords and their clansmen into rent-paying tenants.

21. What were the small family farms swept away in the Highland Clearances called?

  1. Crofts
  2. Allotments
  3. Plantations
  4. Boroughs
Show answer

Answer: A — Crofts

Landlords cleared the crofts to make room for great flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

22. When were evictions in the Highland Clearances at their worst?

  1. The early 19th century
  2. The late 17th century
  3. The mid-18th century
  4. The late 20th century
Show answer

Answer: A — The early 19th century

Evictions peaked in the early 19th century, and many Scots left the Highlands for North America.

23. What is the Scottish celebration of New Year called?

  1. Hogmanay
  2. Vaisakhi
  3. Eisteddfod
  4. Beltane
Show answer

Answer: A — Hogmanay

Auld Lang Syne is sung at New Year — Hogmanay, as the celebration is known in Scotland.

24. Which TWO Scottish thinkers are named among the great minds of the Enlightenment?

  1. Adam Smith
  2. David Hume
  3. Robert Burns
  4. Richard Arkwright
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Adam Smith; David Hume

Adam Smith laid the foundations of economics and David Hume changed how philosophers think about human nature; James Watt's steam work fed the Industrial Revolution.

← Test 27 All tests Test 29 →