A backbencher is a member of a parliament who holds no government post and is not an official spokesperson for the opposition. UK Parliament defines backbenchers as MPs or members of the House of Lords “that are neither government ministers nor opposition Shadow spokespeople.” The name comes from where they sit: in the rows of benches behind their party’s leading figures, who occupy the front benches and are called frontbenchers.
The term is used in the UK and in other parliaments modeled on the Westminster system. In the House of Commons, a Backbench Business Committee chooses the subjects debated in time set aside for issues raised by backbench MPs.