Frances Bedford

Who is Frances Bedford?

Frances Ellen Bedford, Australian politician, is a member of the South Australian House of Assembly. She represents the electoral district of Florey and is a member of the Australian Labor Party.

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 over 10 per cent, 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 2010 state election, Bedford holds Florey with a margin of 3.6 percent.