CLUB NIGHT, 27 September: The Great British Citizenship Quiz

Since November 2005, immigrants seeking British citizenship have had to sit an official test to prove their suitability. Earlier this year Gordon Brown proposed that immigrants should undertake community work before being granted citizenship, and that they should understand citizenship as a ‘contract’ entailing ‘rights and responsibilities’.

But is being a good citizen really about (in)voluntary work, or learning a list of rights and responsibilities? Can a multiple-choice test define what it means to belong in and contribute to a country?

The Manifesto Club night on Thursday 27 September 2007 gave members and guests a chance to sit the test, to show the kinds of questions potential citizens are expected to answer. Read a notification of results, by the event designers. Read about the event in The Times. See the test booklet.

To make everyone feel at home we conducted the test in the form of that Great British institution: the Pub Quiz. The test centre was the Old Queen’s Head in Islington, London. The quiz was proposed and organised by Manifesto Club members Tom Mower, Simon Elvins and Julie Hill, who are all designers based in London.

Following on from the event, Suzy Dean argued that Only a sense of vision can give real meaning to citizenship, Open Democracy's Our Kingdom blog, 8 October 2007. See also Compulsory voting: the case against, 5 October, which provoked a response from Fiona MacTaggart MP.

Club Nights are regular get-togethers for Manifesto Club members and their guests – a chance to have a drink and debate ideas with like-minded individuals. Club Nights are free for Manifesto Club members, £5 for non-members (payable on the door). For details of how to join, see here.

For further information email info@manifestoclub.com