Kol Nidre motion on Dame Louise Ellman ‘ruled out of order’

A Labour group motion calling for Dame Louise Ellman’s resignation tabled for the evening of Kol Nidre has been ruled out of order, Jewish News understands.

The motion, put forward by a member of Ellman’s Liverpool Riverside constituency party, was to be discussed on Tuesday in the St Michael’s branch.

Ellman, who has represented Liverpool Riverside since 1997, has been a vocal critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over the antisemitism row. 

The timing of the motion drew wide condemnations from Jewish leaders last week, including from Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl.

“That a Jewish MP should be threatened with a vote of no confidence tabled for Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – when she has no opportunity even to respond, ought to be a source of deep shame for the Labour Party,” she said.

A Labour spokesperson said in a statement last week that “no confidence motions have no formal standing in the party.”