Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun a member of the House of Commons of Great Britain who is not a party leader.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun politics A
Member of Parliament who does not havecabinet rank , and who therefore sits on one of thebackbenches or in one of theback rows of thelegislature .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a member of the House of Commons who is not a party leader
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word backbencher.
Examples
-
She's a first-term backbencher from exurban Minneapolis who says the Lord told her to run for Congress.
Taipei Times 2008
-
She's a first-term backbencher from exurban Minneapolis who says the Lord told her to run for Congress.
Liberal Values 2008
-
He's called a backbencher because anytime someone on these pages says anything nice or positive about a Republican it must be tempered with a slap.
-
If he was an abject failure or what Mark Levin calls a backbencher, nobody would give Rush a second look.
Hot Air » Top Picks 2009
-
But back at home, the ex-PM is doing something that would be unimaginable for an ex-POTUS: He's still in Parliament as a "backbencher," repping his old district, a string of small mining communities in the southern part of Scotland.
Ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a "backbencher" at home, global thinker abroad, feted at swanky D.C. book party The Reliable Source 2010
-
But back at home, the ex-PM is doing something that would be unimaginable for an ex-POTUS: He's still in Parliament as a "backbencher," repping his old district, a string of small mining communities in the southern part of Scotland.
A toast to the ex-PM life Post 2010
-
Now iRoy reminds us that Benn isn't just Britain's longest-serving parliamentarian -- he's also an inventor, the creator of the "backbencher" ( "a rucksack with stool attached") as well as a car-mounted easy-chair, a totally bad-ass pocket-protector, a briefcase that turns into a lectern, a magnetic map for logging your parking spot, and the "seat-case," a suitcase that turns into a chair.
Boing Boing 2008
-
Anon - in the last year, I've earned twice as much as a councillor as a 'backbencher' by virtue of being a portfolio holder.
Councillors' pay: a proposal Stephen Tall 2007
-
Often, the press focused on Dole's "first woman" status, giving the impression that she was a "backbencher," not the seasoned political operative she in fact was.
-
He and Ryder anticipated a different kind of backbencher, less loyal to the leadership and dogmatically opposed to Europe.
Betty Bothroyd The Autobiography Bothroyd, Betty 1988
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.