Ousted Victorian Liberal MP Bernie Finn to lead Democratic Labour Party

Bernie Finn will now lead the Democratic Labour Party in Victoria, which he says is a ‘genuinely conservative Labor party’. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Controversial Victorian MP Bernie Finn will lead the Democratic Labour party into the state’s November election, saying he hopes the fringe party will help control the balance of power in the upper house.

Last week, the Victorian Liberals voted to expel Finn from the parliamentary party after he posted on Facebook saying abortion should be banned, even for survivors of rape. The decision forced Finn to move to the crossbench in the upper house.