frontbencher

1 8.4

A member of Parliament who is a government minister or an official opposition spokesperson seated at the front

noun
/ˈfrʌntˌbɛnʧər/

Jargon

: miembro del gobierno

As a leading frontbencher, she plays a crucial role in shaping the party's policies.

Examples

And now our Prime Minister doesn't seem to have the backing of of frontbenchers and backbenchers.
The Labour frontbencher Chris Bryant and other MPs are thought to have been similarly targeted.

Blog text (34)
The Labour frontbencher addressed the media after the latest government announcement.
During the debate, each frontbencher presented their party's stance on healthcare reform.

Synonyms

Member of Parliament

vsfrontbencher

33 3.7

A person elected to represent an area in the UK Parliament, especially in the House of Commons

is a minister or official spokesperson rather than an ordinary elected representative

parliamentarian

vsfrontbencher

9 7.3

A person elected to a parliament, such as the House of Commons

is a minister or official spokesperson rather than any parliamentary member

Surface Forms

frontbencher singular

frontbenchers plural

Morphology

frontbencher = frontbench (semi-transparent) = front + bench + er

The word is formed from the political compound 'frontbench' plus '-er', but the parliamentary sense is specialized rather than fully predictable for all learners.

Etymology

Frontbencher comes from the words front ('the front') and bench ('a long seat'). In Parliament the most important politicians sit on the front benches, so a frontbencher is one of those leading members, such as a minister or a party's official speaker.