front bench
noun
: either of the two benches nearest the chair in a British legislature (such as the House of Commons) occupied by government and opposition leaders
also : the leaders themselves compare backbench
front-bencher
ˈfrənt-ˈben-chər 
noun 
Example Sentences
He challenged the views of his party's front bench.
Recent Examples on the Web The interior eschews bucket seats and console in favor of a front bench seat, the better to show off the novelty of the car's flat floor. 
Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 26 Aug. 2022 At one point, when Johnson tried one of his usual attack lines on the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and his team, the Labour front bench began to wave farewell, in unison. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022 Brook Park Branch, 6155 Engle Road, and Brook Park Botanical and Garden Club, will team up to create an attractive garden area along the south side of the library building, and to place a planter beside the library’s front bench. Rich Heileman, cleveland, 8 Apr. 2022 The Ram's wide front bench makes sitting three across easier than it's been since the '70s. K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 17 Nov. 2021 But hey—cars and romance have a rich and storied intertwined history, from the days when most vehicles came with front bench seats and voluminous back seat playgrounds. Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021 Sohel took a grim satisfaction in watching the manager clamber up onto the front bench seat, his dignity ruffled. Daniyal Mueenuddin, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2021 She was first elected to Parliament in 1964—an annus mirabilis for all things progressive—and spent much of the next 15 years on the front bench. The Economist, 15 Apr. 2021 The problem affects vehicles with the 40/20/40 split-folding front bench seats, not those with front bucket seats, according to the NHTSA defect report. Laura Sky Brown, Car and Driver, 29 Dec. 2020 See More
Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 26 Aug. 2022 At one point, when Johnson tried one of his usual attack lines on the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and his team, the Labour front bench began to wave farewell, in unison. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022 Brook Park Branch, 6155 Engle Road, and Brook Park Botanical and Garden Club, will team up to create an attractive garden area along the south side of the library building, and to place a planter beside the library’s front bench. Rich Heileman, cleveland, 8 Apr. 2022 The Ram's wide front bench makes sitting three across easier than it's been since the '70s. K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 17 Nov. 2021 But hey—cars and romance have a rich and storied intertwined history, from the days when most vehicles came with front bench seats and voluminous back seat playgrounds. Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021 Sohel took a grim satisfaction in watching the manager clamber up onto the front bench seat, his dignity ruffled. Daniyal Mueenuddin, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2021 She was first elected to Parliament in 1964—an annus mirabilis for all things progressive—and spent much of the next 15 years on the front bench. The Economist, 15 Apr. 2021 The problem affects vehicles with the 40/20/40 split-folding front bench seats, not those with front bucket seats, according to the NHTSA defect report. Laura Sky Brown, Car and Driver, 29 Dec. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1889, in the meaning defined above