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Of a Member of Parliament, who sits on the backbenches, that is, who is not in the Cabinet and so has a minor role in the government.See Also: backbencher, backbenches
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backbench
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backbench — ack bench (b[a^]k b[e^]nch), n. 1. any of the seats occupied by backbenchers in the House of Commons of Great Britain. [WordNet 1.5] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
backbench — back|bench [ˌbækˈbentʃ] adj [only before noun] BrE a backbench Member of Parliament is an ordinary British Member of Parliament who does not have an important official position ▪ He has the support of a lot of backbench MPs. ▪ a backbench revolt … Dictionary of contemporary English
backbench — [[t]bæ̱kbentʃ[/t]] ADJ: ADJ n A backbench MP is a Member of Parliament who is not a minister and who does not hold an official position in his or her political party. [BRIT, AUSTRALIAN] ...the Conservative backbench MP Sir Teddy Taylor... Such a… … English dictionary
backbench — UK [ˌbækˈbentʃ] / US [bækˈbentʃ] / US [ˈbækˌbentʃ] noun [countable] Word forms backbench : singular backbench plural backbenches British one of the seats in the British Parliament where ordinary Members of Parliament sit. The leading members of… … English dictionary
backbench — /ˈbækbɛntʃ / (say bakbench) noun Also, back bench. 1. the non office holding parliamentary members of a political party who by tradition occupy the seats at the back of the legislature, behind the front benches where the ministers and members of… …
backbench — back·bench (băkʹbĕnch ) n. 1. Chiefly British. The rear benches in the House of Commons where junior members of Parliament sit behind government officeholders and their counterparts in the opposition party. 2. New members of Congress considered… … Universalium
backbench — back|bench [ bæk bentʃ, bæk,bentʃ ] noun count BRITISH one of the seats in the British Parliament where ordinary Members of Parliament sit. The leading members of each party sit on the front bench: a backbench Member of Parliament … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
Backbench (disambiguation) — Backbench may have multiple meanings:* For an elected politician in a parliamentary system who is not a cabinet member, see Backbencher. * For the Canadian political comic strip, see Backbench (comic strip) … Wikipedia
Backbench (comic strip) — Backbench is a comic strip appearing in The Globe and Mail . The strip is written and drawn by Graham Harrop. It consists of multiple and single panel jokes, generally drawn from and satirizing Canadian politics.Graham Harrop also has an… … Wikipedia
backbench — noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1855 a bench in a British legislature (as the House of Commons) occupied by rank and file members compare front bench • backbencher noun … New Collegiate Dictionary
