F: Clode's Right Political Dictionary
“Father of the House” This is a title bestowed on the parliamentarian with the longest unbroken service in parliament. The first printed appearance of the phrase was in 1852 when Conservative Benjamin Disraeli described Hume as the “father”. The word probably originated from the Oxford and Cambridge college practice of denoting senior fellows as “father” of the college. Over time there have been five practices for choosing the father: election of a candidate; picking the oldest member of parliament; picking the member with the longest aggregate service; picking the member with the longest unbroken service; and picking the member who entered the house longest ago. In modern times the title has fallen to the member with the longest unbroken service.
“Frontbencher” Frontbenchers include those parliamentarians who are Ministers or Opposition Shadow Ministers. The term is only of relevance in a Westminster parliament, where Ministers serve in the parliament as parliamentarians.
“Front-loading” This term describes the practice of scheduling party candidate selections earlier in advance of an election. The expression derives from the United States where state bodies within the major parties compete to have the earliest vote to nominate a Presidential candidate. By moving candidate selections to early dates, different bodies within a party hope to lend decisive momentum to one candidate and thus have disproportionate influence on their respective party’s nomination.
“Front-Runner” This is a candidate in any election or nomination process who is considered to be the most popular or likely to win.