Study guide for Citizenship Exam released today

I've never heard of free driving lessons in high school in the States.  When I went to the driving center when I was in high school we had to pay the driving school.  Could this be different state by state?

I went to high school in California, and we had Driver's Education as one of our classes.  It was free... we/our parents didnt pay extra for it.  This was in 79-80.

Ours was free as well -- North Carolina in 1994.  I guess it does vary state-to-state.  I always assumed it was free for everyone.   

We had to pay for ours (Eastern Shore of Maryland) around 1986.

I would think that considering the number of years someone has to reside in the UK before they are allowed to apply for citizenship, by the time they do apply, they would already know many of the answers without having to study, unless they are the type of person who never picks up a newspaper or reads a book.

Um, it's not necessarily that obvious. I'm still very unclear about the process by which something gets made into British law, unlike the US where I still remember the cartoon about how a bill become a law (the one with a bouncing paper scroll). Once something gets made into law, I'm not sure how the court system works here to contest it. But I don't feel too bad because my sense, after asking a lot of natives, is that it isn't clear to them either. And listening to the news hasn't really helped matters much. Then add to the mix that Scotland has a different system. One weird thing is that the Law Lords declared the Belmarsh detentions against British law, but that didn't automatically change the law, since the feeling here is that Parliament is a higher authority than the courts (no separation of powers like in the US).

Blunkett said tha tthe exam wouldn't focus on history, which is a tricky matter since would we be examined on British history or an English centric one? It's the problem of a state formed from several nations (notice that the UK passport lists nationality as "British citizen" not British, since British-ness is a state, not a national identity). All very confusing, really, so I'd be grateful to see what the book says even though I'm already naturalized.

I just watched the ACLU doc "Busted" which goes through our rights in a police stop and search situation. It occurs to me that I haven't the slightest idea of what the police can or can not do here, since we obviously don't have Miranda protections and so on.

I agree with Lightbulb that you can't make that assumption.  People can live here for years and have no clue about the day-to-day things, much less the intricacies of law and order.

  People can live here for years and have no clue about the day-to-day things, much less the intricacies of law and order.

I agree.  In my opinion, such people should not be allowed to be involved in the political process.

I agree.  In my opinion, such people should not be allowed to be involved in the political process.

Isn't that quite elitist?  The point of democracy is that everyone (who is eligible) should have the right to vote.  Someone who doesn't follow current events might not make the most informed choice when they vote, but they do have a right to make the choice.

Isn't that quite elitist? The point of democracy is that everyone (who is eligible) should have the right to vote. Someone who doesn't follow current events might not make the most informed choice when they vote, but they do have a right to make the choice.

Exactly.  What would you propose, sweetpeach?  Asking each registered voter if they read a newspaper and/or watch the news?  And THEN ask them what they read/watch to make sure it's "real" news and not "fluff" news or biased news?

Sweetpeach, it's a very noble thought you have that people should know all about British law, politics, read newspapers, books, etc about it, but how many British citizens don't do it?  Do they get their citizenship taken away?  No.

Why should we who apply for citizenship and have met requirements for being here years, paying money for visas, paying taxes, etc have to jump through an extra citizenship test?  Why should immigrants know more about politics and laws then the average British citizen through birth?

It seems to me it's just an extra way to hassle immigrants and to get lots of money from them, especially by having to buy £10 study guides!  Gordon Brown underestimated the budget deficit by about double, is he trying to find sneaky ways to fund the gov't?

Matt

Yep, it's theor way, no doubt, of privatizing the exam. No need to set up schools when you can externalize the cost by having individuals pay for it themselves. Sort of like driving lessons. But hey even in the states you can take driving lessons for free in high school.

It might pay to check with your constituency office first.  Mine has asked for a mock test to be drawn up, which I'll have in the next month or so.  So it's possible the same approach will be used in other constituencies. 

Here's two sample questions from my test: 

An upcoming crucial vote in Parliament would be underlined how many times in the weekly advisory circular? 

What two colours are used to distinguish the essays and papers that Parliament uses to familiarise itself with prospective legislation?

An upcoming crucial vote in Parliament would be underlined how many times in the weekly advisory circular? 

What two colours are used to distinguish the essays and papers that Parliament uses to familiarise itself with prospective legislation?

You're joking? That's what they consider to be pertinent questions. FFS.

Ok, I'd say

a) three times

b) Green Paper and White Paper


And the answers are?

You're joking? That's what they consider to be pertinent questions. FFS.

Ok, I'd say

a) three times

b) Green Paper and White Paper


And the answers are?

As m'lud has stated   

And upon your dual-national honour not to Google, but off the top of your head:

What is the difference between a Statutory Instrument and a Bill?   

Wow, I'm glad I'm already dual....

Sorry for my ignorance, but I wasn't aware that you didn't already need to take an exam to naturalize as a British citizen.  You have to take an exam to become an American citizen. (Although it seems that the American test questions are simpler, and I believe you can get a study guide for the American test online for free. I agree that charging people to buy the book is unfair.) I think it's only right that if you want to be the citizen of a country, and be able to vote, you should be able to prove a basic knowledge of its laws and culture. 

I am not making any excuses for people who are citizens by virtue of birth or ancestry and don't know squat about their country's laws or culture.

One of the things that I plan to do while I am living in England and have some free time before I can get a job is to start seriously studying the British political system and British history.  Not because I need to do it in order to become a citizen someday, but because I ought to. (I've got a degree in Political Science and I know next to nothing about British politics, and only a tiny bit more about British history. I ought to be ashamed of myself.)

I would think that considering the number of years someone has to reside in the UK before they are allowed to apply for citizenship, by the time they do apply, they would already know many of the answers without having to study, unless they are the type of person who never picks up a newspaper or reads a book.

I don't know--I'd hardly say the American test was simpler.  DF is not only a very intellegent man, but he STUDIED American history in uni.  Last month we downloaded the sample questions for the USC test: I got all of them correct, he struggled with most of them.  

There are, as someone already pointed out, things that you don't know about a nation unless you lived there all of your life...you know, the little things that you learn in grade school and then you just KNOW, and you never "really" pull on that knowledge again.  Examples:  What boat did the pilgrims hit land in?  What do the colors on the flag symbolize?  Who said "Give me liberty or give me death"?

Also, I don't know that knowing the answers to the above questions (or not knowing them) should decide who votes and who doesn't.  They have NOTHING to do with chosing an elected official.

Just my little opinion...

What is the difference between a Statutory Instrument and a Bill?   

No, seriously, I didn't google that. Ok, now I'm sweating, but I'd say that a Statutory Instrument doesn't require a vote in the Commons, while a Bill does.