Word.ws English Dictionary

Awkward Bench

Awkward Bench proper noun: the front row of seats below the gangway on the Labour side of the House of Commons, where rebel MPs often sit.

Proper noun

the Awkward Bench

  1. (UK, slang) The front row of seats below the gangway on the Labour side of the House of Commons, where rebel MPs often sit.
    • Described as 'a sabre-toothed growler on Labour's awkward bench' (Robert Hardman), he sits alongside Dennis Skinner a mere arm's length from the Chief Whip, whom, in opposition during the 1992 Parliament, he defied 52 times, […]1999, Robert Waller, Byron Criddle, The Almanac of British Politics, page 288
    • I am pleased that he is on the awkward Bench and hope to see him here in future.2005, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 451

Questions about Awkward Bench

What does Awkward Bench mean?
Awkward Bench means the front row of seats below the gangway on the Labour side of the House of Commons, where rebel MPs often sit.
What part of speech is Awkward Bench?
Awkward Bench is a proper noun.

Words near Awkward Bench in the dictionary

  1. awkness
  2. awko taco
  3. awks
  4. awkward
  5. awkward age
  6. Awkward Bench
  7. awkward squad
  8. awkward squads
  9. awkward turtle
  10. awkward turtles
  11. awkwarder

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Awkward Bench (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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