backbench

noun

back·​bench ˈbak-ˈbench 

often attributive

: a bench in a British legislature (such as the House of Commons) occupied by rank-and-file members compare front bench

backbencher

ˈbak-ˈben-chər 

noun

Example Sentences

the Prime Minister's supporters on the backbenches

Recent Examples on the Web

At the heart of the machinations is Graham Brady, the affable chairman of a powerful committee of Conservative backbench members of Parliament, who would preside over the election of a new party leader if there is one. —Stephen Castle, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2022

Today, the Party is an utter mess, a collapsed heap, with warring factions within its factions, and many of its backbench M.P.s in despair. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2022

In his response to Sunak, Zahawi pledged to support the prime minister as a backbench lawmaker and made no reference to the ethics inquiry. —BostonGlobe.com, 29 Jan. 2023

But it was revived on Capitol Hill in 2015 by a backbench congressman with a bone to pick with GOP leaders. —Rachel Scott, ABC News, 5 Jan. 2023

Those close to her describe only one option as inconceivable: a demotion to the backbench. —Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2022

His handpicked successor lost a primary this year to a backbench freshman state delegate. —Erin Cox, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2022

By March 2022, half of conservative backbench Members of Parliament had joined the Conservative Environment Network, which embraces the country's pledge of net zero emissions by 2050. —Joseph Romm, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022

Could attacking backbench members of the House GOP backfire? —Erin B. Logan, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above