Labour Christmas Pub Quiz 2023: Put your party knowledge to the test

Like to think you know your stuff about all things Labour – and certainly more than your friends or family?

Put your knowledge to the test this festive season with our special LabourList Christmas quiz to round off 2023.

See a link to the answers at the bottom of this article – no cheating…

Round 1: Stay in the party!

A lot of our time here at LabourList is spent covering people who’ve fallen foul of the rule book. Make sure this isn’t you with a round to test your knowledge of rules and gaffes.

1) Which of these are organizations proscribed by Labour? 

1. Socialist Action
2. Socialist Appeal
3. Socialist Organiser
4. Socialist Vanguard Group 

2) Which gaffe did Labour PPC Darren Rodwell commit this year?

1. Necromancy
2. Culturally insensitive Halloween costume
3. Putting a banner on gravestones
   
4. Trick or treating in a hospice 

3) What did the protester who threw glitter on Keir Starmer want?

1. A ban on new oil and gas licences 
2. A citizens assembly
3. A progressive alliance
4. A ceasefire in Gaza

4) Which of these unions are affiliated to the party?

1. Unite
2. NEU
3. Musician’s Union
4. ASLEF

5)Who is the NEC chair?

1. Alice Perry
2. Joanna Baxter
3. James Asser
4. Luke Akehurst

Round 2: Johns, Jons, Jonathans, Johnnys

One thing we don’t lack for in the labour movement is men named John. Or Jon, or Jonathan, or Johnny. This is a round celebrating Labour Johns, in all their glory.

1)Which is a founder of Momentum?

1. Jonathan Rutherford
2. Jon Lansman
3. John McDonnell
4. John O’Farrell

2) When did former leader John Smith die (½ point for the year, ½ for the year and the month)?

No help here…

3) Which of these is a LabourList columnist?

1. John Spellar
2. John Denham
3. Jon Lansman
4. John Biggs

4)How many Johns or Jonathans are in the Shadow Cabinet?

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4

5) How many Johns are there in the parliamentary Labour party? 

1. 6 
2. 8
3. 10
4. 12

Round 3: Quote round!

Test your knowledge of Labour history, both recent and less recent, with this round on the some of the things Labour politicians and their aides have said – some regrettable, some less so.

1). “He died, Jeremy. He tragically died.”

Who said this – and who had died? (1/2 point for each)

2) Harold Wilson: “The Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is …”

1. An election-winner
   
2. Nothing
3. A protest party
   
4. Bankrupt 

3) What did Labour aide Jo Moore famous describe as “a good day to bury bad news”?

No help here…

4) A reported text exchange between two Labour MPs that happened in 2016:

Person X: “The Observer front page is an absolute disgrace. You make me ashamed to have ever tried to work with you. What were you hoping to achieve?”

Person Y: “Sorry for that. I don’t recognise the number.”

Name persons X and Y. 1/2 point for each.

5) Which Labour MP was alleged to have told a blind journalist to “move out of my fucking way” in 2011?

No help here…

Round 4: The Enemy 

What are those chinless freaks up to? A round on the Tory Party.

1)What song was Therese Coffey filmed singing the night before cutting universal credit by £20 per week?

1. Don’t stop me now
2. Rocket man
3. Time of my life
4. Money Money Money

2) What is Rishi Sunak’s favourite book? 

1. Riders, by Jilly Cooper
2. The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, by Stephen Covey
3. Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding
4. Thirst for Love, by Yukio Mishima

3) For whom would Dominic Raab take the knee? (Choose all that apply)

1. His wife
2. The armed forces
3. The Queen
4. The Archbishop of Canterbury

4) In 2018, Jeremy Hunt publicly did what to his wife?

1. Confused her nationality
2. Addressed her by his mother’s name
3. Called her “plain-looking”
4. Said that she’d put on weight

5) Which foodstuff brand did Kemi Badenoch denounce by name in her leadership launch?

1. Oatly Milk
2. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
3. Innocent Smoothies
4. Tofoo Tofu

Round 5: By-elections!

We’ve had a lot of by-elections this year, so here’s a round designed to test your knowledge of Labour’s newest MPs.

1) Before he was Labour’s by-election candidate and victor, Michael Shanks made Glasgow local news by doing what during lockdown?

1. Adopted a lost parrot
2. Spent a week living on a roundabout
3. Ran down every street in Glasgow
4. Won a competition to invent a new flavour of crisp

2) Labour’s by-election candidate in Mid Bedfordshire made the front page of the Sun earlier this year when it was discovered he had dressed up as what as part of a protest?

1. Nadhim Zahawi’s tax bill
2. A zombie
3. Boris Johnson
4. A giant chicken

3) What is Keir Mather’s majority?

1. 796 votes
2. 2,341 votes
3. 4,161 votes
4. 8,029 votes

4) Which union did new Tamworth MP Sarah Edwards previously work for?

No help here…

5) How many by-elections have there been since the last general election? 

1. 8
2. 13
3. 18
4. 19

Answers: the quizmaster can find all the answers here when you’re done.