Backbencher

In Switzerland, senior figures sit in the back rows in order to have a better overview and be closer to the doors for discussions outside the plenary.

Originally, the importance of the front rows for the leaders had also to do with the fact that acoustics were often unsatisfactory before microphones were introduced.

Prominent or iconic political figures can also play a backbench role, as the case of Aung San Suu Kyi illustrates: the leader of Myanmar's opposition to military rule was first elected MP in 2012 but proved only marginally involved in legislative business.

Backbenchers also have an unofficial agenda-setting power, with Opposition Day debates, private member's bills, and Prime Minister's Questions available to place items on the parliamentary agenda which are awkward for the government.

By the end of 2010 coalition government it had undergone 300 debates, ranging from prisoner voting rights to the Hillsborough disaster.