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this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2024
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UK Politics
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General Discussion for politics in the UK.
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Backbencher is an actual term for a member of parliament without a government office.
That's why UK insults are the best. Referring to a backbencher as a backbencher isn't an insult. Referring to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as a backbencher, because she lost her office and now sits on the back benches, is an insult. It's an incredibly snide remark that seems perfectly normal unless you know why it's not.
So it's institutionally approved shade
No, it's member of Parliament who's not a frontbencher - i.e. who's not a government minister or an official spokesperson for their party in Parliament.
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves and Ed Davey don't hold government office, since they're opposition politicians, but they're not backbenchers.