From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbackbencherback‧bench‧er /ˌbækˈbentʃə◂ $ -ər◂/ noun [countable] British English PGPan ordinary British Member of Parliament who does not have an important official position
Examples from the Corpus
backbencher• Heseltine's campaign team, having been canvassing backbenchers for several weeks, had already developed a considerable momentum.• The Charter is up for renewal in 1996, and there are ministers to be lobbied and Conservative backbenchers to be wooed.• It may well have been the desire of many, perhaps a majority, of the Cabinet and the Conservative backbenchers.• Some 30 Conservatives abstained, as did a significant number of Labour backbenchers.• Opposition backbenchers, as in the House, make their general case against the bill.• And only his own backbenchers can do that.• The Government refuses to hold a national poll despite pressure from its own backbenchers and senior party figures.• I was also under no illusion that some backbenchers on our side were nervous about the policy. 