Urgent - Confusing facts in life in the uk test book

[Edelweiss]

Hi there

I am about to take my test and there are some issues in the book that I am really confused about.

First - on one page the UK is described as a Constitutional Monarchy, a Parliamentary Democracy and a Constitutional Democracy. Which is it (for purposes of the test)?

Second - Should we take facts just as they are in the book, or if things have changed in the meantime, should we find the correct facts? For example, a committee that no longer exists and has been changed since the book was written.

Third - What about incorrect facts in the book? For example, the book says if you have a driving licence and are from outside the EU and a few other countries, you have take a driving test, but that is not true. As a South African I was able to exchange my licence for a British one without doing the test. Do you just accept facts (even if you know they are wrong) in the book for the test?

What about new laws that have been made in the meantime?

Thanks so much!

[mochyn]

You have to accept the facts in the book even if they are wrong as some of the correct answers in the test are not right

[Edelweiss]

Thank you!

[Christophe]

You have to accept the facts in the book even if they are wrong as some of the correct answers in the test are not right

I think that's probably right.

To the OP, in terms of your first question (constitutional monarchy versus parliamentary democracy versus constitutional democracy), the UK is all three, although the third term is not one that I have particularly heard before. If I were asked, I'd put the first one.

Regarding your third question (about overseas driving licenses), I'd be surprised — though I stand to be corrected — if the test asked you about the minutiae of who can exchange a driving licence for a UK one and who can't. That is hardly relevant to day-to-day "life in the UK". (A question might be how long one can drive in the UK on a non-UK licence — although for most people taking the test, that piece of information will be coming too late!)

Anyway, good luck with test.

[Edelweiss]

Thanks again. I agree, and this is what makes the whole test so irritating, most of the info would be very useful when you first arrive, like how to register for a GP, etc, but five years on it is a bit redundant. Except that you have to learn things in a particular way as it is set out in the book, whether that is wrong or not!

[bani]

Don't worry, you will quickly forget these useless facts soon after you pass the exam. Just memorise tidbits (year women could vote, numbers of different ethnic groups in the UK-according to an outdated census, patron saints and dates) as much as you can and take practise tests, those are very helpful. Good luck.

About the driving license, it's only a few non-EU countries that are allowed to convert their licenses to UK ones (like S.A., Australia, Singapore), but mostly you have to take the test again. I think that's what the book meant. My USA and Philippine driving licenses cannot be just exchanged, so I need to take the driving test.

[Casa]

If something has changed since the most recent edition of the book was published, the test won't include a question relating to this.
The UK is a Constitutional Monarchy

[Edelweiss]

I passed!! Thank you everyone.

[Christophe]

Congratulations!

[mrlookforward]

If something has changed since the most recent edition of the book was published, the test won't include a question relating to this.
The UK is a Constitutional Monarchy

Sometimes in feels like UK is a democratic dictatorship.