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Life in the UK Practice Test 31 (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.

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1. Which TWO changes did the Reform Act of 1832 bring?

  1. The old pocket and rotten boroughs were swept away
  2. Seats in Parliament moved to the towns and cities
  3. Women were given the vote
  4. The property requirement for voting was abolished
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Answer: A and B — The old pocket and rotten boroughs were swept away; Seats in Parliament moved to the towns and cities

Far more people could vote and power shifted permanently from countryside to town — but the vote still depended on owning property.

2. What were the campaigners who carried petitions to Parliament demanding the vote for working people called?

  1. The Chartists
  2. The Chartered Boroughs
  3. The Fenians
  4. The Suffragettes
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Answer: A — The Chartists

The Chartists campaigned for the vote for working people and others without property.

3. Which TWO changes did the second Reform Act of 1867 bring?

  1. Many more urban seats
  2. A lower property bar for voting
  3. Votes for women
  4. Votes for all men
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Answer: A and B — Many more urban seats; A lower property bar for voting

Even after 1867 most men still could not vote, and no women could.

4. What is meant by 'universal suffrage'?

  1. The right of every adult, male or female, to vote
  2. The right of property owners to vote
  3. The right to stand for Parliament
  4. The right to a secret ballot
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Answer: A — The right of every adult, male or female, to vote

Universal suffrage — the right of every adult, male or female, to vote — followed in the next century.

5. Before 1870, what happened to everything a married woman earned or owned?

  1. It passed automatically to her husband
  2. It was held by the Crown
  3. It was shared equally with her husband
  4. It remained entirely her own
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Answer: A — It passed automatically to her husband

Acts of Parliament in 1870 and 1882 gave wives the right to keep their own earnings and property.

6. Where and in which year was Emmeline Pankhurst born?

  1. Manchester, in 1858
  2. London, in 1889
  3. Manchester, in 1903
  4. Liverpool, in 1820
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Answer: A — Manchester, in 1858

She was born in Manchester in 1858 and founded the Women's Franchise League in 1889.

7. In which year did Emmeline Pankhurst help found the Women's Social and Political Union?

  1. 1903
  2. 1889
  3. 1918
  4. 1928
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Answer: A — 1903

The WSPU, founded in 1903, was the first group whose members were called 'suffragettes'.

8. Which TWO tactics did the WSPU use?

  1. Chaining themselves to railings
  2. Going on hunger strike
  3. Standing candidates for Parliament
  4. Refusing to pay rent
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Answer: A and B — Chaining themselves to railings; Going on hunger strike

The WSPU turned to civil disobedience — chaining themselves to railings, smashing windows, arson — and many members, Pankhurst among them, went on hunger strike.

9. In 1918 the vote was extended to all men over what age?

  1. 21
  2. 30
  3. 25
  4. 18
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Answer: A — 21

In 1918 women over 30 won the right to vote and to stand for Parliament, and the vote was extended to all men over 21.

10. In which year did women get the vote at 21, on equal terms with men?

  1. 1928
  2. 1918
  3. 1832
  4. 1969
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Answer: A — 1928

Shortly before Emmeline Pankhurst died in 1928, women finally got the vote at 21 on equal terms with men.

11. Which TWO arguments were made against the British Empire by the late 19th century?

  1. That it was over-stretched
  2. That constant conflicts across it drained Britain's resources
  3. That it brought no trade
  4. That it was too small to defend
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Answer: A and B — That it was over-stretched; That constant conflicts across it drained Britain's resources

Supporters pointed to trade and commerce; critics said it was over-stretched and drained by conflicts on India's north-west frontier and in southern Africa.

12. For how long did the Boers fight Britain in the war of 1899 to 1902?

  1. Over three years
  2. Under one year
  3. Ten years
  4. Six months
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Answer: A — Over three years

The Boers, settlers descended from the Netherlands, fought fiercely for over three years; many died in battle and many more of disease.

13. By the second half of the 20th century, what had the Empire largely become?

  1. The Commonwealth, with its countries granted independence
  2. A federation governed from London
  3. A single republic
  4. A trading bloc with France
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Answer: A — The Commonwealth, with its countries granted independence

As territories developed they won more freedom and autonomy, and the Empire made a largely orderly transition into the Commonwealth.

14. Where was Rudyard Kipling born, and in which year?

  1. India, in 1865
  2. the UK, in 1907
  3. the USA, in 1865
  4. India, in 1936
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Answer: A — India, in 1865

Kipling was born in India in 1865 and went on to live in India, the UK and the USA.

15. In which year did Rudyard Kipling win the Nobel Prize in Literature?

  1. 1907
  2. 1865
  3. 1936
  4. 1918
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Answer: A — 1907

Kipling won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907.

16. Which TWO works were written by Rudyard Kipling?

  1. The Jungle Book
  2. Just So Stories
  3. The Canterbury Tales
  4. Treasure Island
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Answer: A and B — The Jungle Book; Just So Stories

His books include the Just So Stories and The Jungle Book, and his poem If has often been voted among the UK's favourite poems.

17. Which TWO reforms were introduced in Britain in the early 20th century?

  1. Old-age pensions
  2. Free school meals
  3. Universal suffrage for women
  4. The National Health Service
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Answer: A and B — Old-age pensions; Free school meals

Governments brought in financial help for the unemployed, old-age pensions and free school meals, and passed laws to make workplaces safer.

18. What change opened public life to people who could not otherwise have afforded it?

  1. MPs were paid a salary for the first time
  2. The property qualification for voting was abolished
  3. Local government was abolished
  4. Peerages were made hereditary
Show answer

Answer: A — MPs were paid a salary for the first time

MPs were paid a salary for the first time, and local government became more democratic.

19. Which TWO conditions had been building for years before the First World War?

  1. Rising nationalism in many European states
  2. The division of the major European powers into two rival camps
  3. The collapse of the British Empire
  4. The spread of universal suffrage
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Answer: A and B — Rising nationalism in many European states; The division of the major European powers into two rival camps

The assassination was only the trigger; nationalism, militarism, imperialism and the two rival camps had been building for years.

20. Which TWO countries were among the Central Powers in the First World War?

  1. Germany
  2. The Ottoman Empire
  3. France
  4. Serbia
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Answer: A and B — Germany; The Ottoman Empire

The Central Powers were mainly Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, with Bulgaria joining later. France and Serbia were Allied Powers.

21. Roughly how many Indians fought on Britain's behalf in the First World War?

  1. More than a million
  2. About 40,000
  3. About 100,000
  4. About 2 million
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Answer: A — More than a million

More than a million Indians fought in many different countries, and around 40,000 of them were killed.

22. Roughly how many British casualties were there on the first day of the attack on the Somme in July 1916?

  1. About 60,000
  2. About 6,000
  3. About 300,000
  4. About 2 million
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Answer: A — About 60,000

The British attack on the Somme in July 1916 produced about 60,000 British casualties on its first day alone.

23. In which year did the British government promise Ireland 'Home Rule'?

  1. 1913
  2. 1916
  3. 1921
  4. 1922
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Answer: A — 1913

A Home Rule Bill went before Parliament in 1913, but Protestants in the north opposed it and the war shelved the question.

24. In which year was the peace treaty signed that led to the partition of Ireland?

  1. 1921
  2. 1916
  3. 1922
  4. 1949
Show answer

Answer: A — 1921

A peace treaty was signed in 1921 and in 1922 Ireland became two countries.

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