A semi-serious proposal would require candidates for national office to pass a demanding general-knowledge test set outside government. A pub-quiz format is preferred to a specialist programme such as Mastermind because ministers and legislators need breadth rather than mastery of one subject. The idea immediately raises the institutional problem of who would write the questions and set the threshold. It is personal political speculation rather than existing British law, and it exposes a tension between competence requirements and democratic access to office.
Notable Point · 1:49:51-1:52:45
A general-knowledge test for political candidates
A semi-serious proposal uses a broad independent knowledge test to ask what elected officials should understand before taking national office.