Crossword clues for backbencher
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
backbencher \backbencher\ (b[a^]k"b[e^]nch*[~e]r), n. a member of the House of Commons of Great Britain who is not a party leader.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
alt. (context politics English) A Member of Parliament who does not have cabinet rank, and who therefore sits on one of the backbenches or in one of the back rows of the legislature. n. (context politics English) A Member of Parliament who does not have cabinet rank, and who therefore sits on one of the backbenches or in one of the back rows of the legislature.
WordNet
n. a member of the House of Commons who is not a party leader
Wikipedia
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament (MP) or a legislator who holds no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the "rank and file".
The term dates from 1855. A backbencher may be a new parliamentary member yet to receive high office, a senior figure dropped from government or someone who for whatever reason is not chosen to sit either in the ministry or the opposition Shadow Ministry. By extension, a backbencher is not a reliable supporter of all of their party's goals and policies.
In most parliamentary systems, backbenchers individually do not have much power to influence government policy. However, they may play a role in providing services to their constituents and in relaying the opinions of their constituents. Some backbenchers also sit on parliamentary committees, where legislation is considered in more detail than there is time for on the floor of the House and, thereby, provide valuable input into the legislative process. In addition, since backbenchers generally form the vast majority of the number of MPs, collectively they can sometimes exercise considerable power especially in cases where the policies of the government are unpopular or when a governing party is internally split.
In some legislative assemblies, sitting at the back of the chamber is not necessarily associated with having a minor role. In Switzerland, senior figures sit in the back rows in order to have a better overview and be closer to the doors for discussions outside the plenary. In Germany, the fraction leaders sit in the front row, but there are no designated places for other senior figures. Originally, the importance of the front rows for the leaders had also to do with the fact that acoustics were often unsatisfactory before microphones were introduced.
The term "backbencher" has also been adopted outside of parliamentary systems, such as the United States Congress. While legislative branches in presidential systems do not share the firm front bench/back bench dichotomy of the Westminster system, the term has been used to denote junior legislators, or legislators who are not part of party leadership within a legislative body.
Backbencher is a Canadian radio drama on CBC Radio One. The series was created by Wendy Lill, and is primarily written by Lill, Ed Thomason and Dave Carley. It ran for two seasons (20 episodes) in 2010 and 2011. The series won a Bronze award in the Best Regularly Scheduled Drama Program (Entertainment)Category at the New York Festivals Radio Program and Promotion Awards on June 20, 2011.
Backbencher is a monthly youth magazine published in India. The magazine is published by Nagpur-based publisher Crazy Minds. Every month the magazine carries a biopic cover story of a successful person who did poorly in their studies during school or college. The goal of publishing these stories is to motivate students who do not do well in school.
Usage examples of "backbencher".
David Willetts resigned as Paymaster General after being criticised by the Standards and Privileges Committee, and Sir John Gorst said that the Government could no longer rely on his support as a Tory backbencher, which left his party teetering on the brink of losing its overall majority.
One ex-praetor and five backbenchers to form a delegation charged with reasoning with the likes of Caepio?
What I own will not ensure the public careers of my sons, even as backbenchers like their father.
They are not even subordinate officers, despite the fact that I am consul and they are mostly backbenchers who will never know the feel of an ivory curule chair beneath their fat arses.
Whereas Cethegus-a patrician Cornelius remotely related to Sulla-had remained in the background, preferring to wield his power by manipulating his fellow backbenchers in the Senate.
He controls the votes of those backbenchers in the Lentulus clientele.
Sulla then heard that Cinna was actively lobbying many of the backbenchers for their support when Vergilius and another tribune of the plebs, Publius Magius, submitted a motion to the Senate to recommend to the Centuriate Assembly that Sulla be stripped of his imperium and made to answer charges of treason and murder.
The message was given to Pompey, who whooped so loudly that dozing backbenchers almost fell off their stools, then leaped to his feet.
It was going down extremely well among the backbenchers and among those on the middle tiers whose allegiance swayed from side to side like a sapling in a vortex.
Liberators met with no overt hostility, though not one of the backbenchers would go near them in case he should inadvertently touch them.
Only a backbencher, but never mere lobby fodder, this most senior of the Julius Caesars left in the Senate now his older brother, Sextus, was dead.
It was no secret he and Swan had been doing a bit of posturing and jockeying in '95 - the odd fringe meeting or keynote speech - just to see where the land lay with the backbenchers, but as everyone else was at it, it would have been silly not to buy a ticket for that particular raffle.
It's a seat that has always been ours, a good safe seat, in the hands of a respected backbencher of great loyalty and little intellect.