adjective

• (in the UK) denoting or relating to a Member of Parliament who does not hold office in the government or opposition and who sits behind the front benches in the House of Commons.

  ‘a revolt by backbench MPs’

  More example sentences

  • ‘He is the undisputed backbench champion of the well-publicized empty gesture.’
  • ‘The whip passes on to the party leadership the opinions of backbench members.’
  • ‘Backbench dissidents feared for their political future due to the cavalier actions of some ministers.’
  • ‘He appealed to the backbench country gentlemen, whose prejudices he shared.’
  • ‘Not one backbench Labour MP spoke in the government's support.’