Frances Bedford
Frances Bedford JP MHA | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy Speaker | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Gay Thompson |
| Chairman of Committees | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Gay Thompson |
| Member of the South Australian Parliament for Florey | |
| Assumed office 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Sam Bass |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 November 1953 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party (SA) |
Frances Ellen Bedford (born 5 November 1953) is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party in the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Florey since the 1997 election.
Bedford was born in Sydney and moved to Melbourne and then Adelaide after the death of her mother. She became involved in politics and became an electorate officer for former Labor MP Peter Duncan. She was elected to State Parliament in the 1997 state election.
Hailing from the Socialist Left faction of the Australian Labor Party, Bedford has described herself as being South Australia's most left-wing MP. Her support for the Relationships Bill 2005, a bill which extends legal protections to same-sex couples, has made her a target of fundamentalist groups. Her opinions are considered by some as being incompatible with the opinions of her 'bible belt' electorate.^ Despite this, she was returned at the 2006 state election with a swing of more than 10 points (two-party-preferred), exceeding the statewide swing to the Labor government and defeating her Liberal opponent Pat Trainor, a former pastor in the Assemblies of God.
As of the 2014 state election, Bedford holds Florey with a margin of 2.5 points.
References
- ^ Richardson, Tom (10 January 2006). "Religious Right turns on Left MP". The Australian. p. 6.
External links
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