'Bullying' of Louise Ellman condemned as the Labour MP faces fresh attempts to oust her

Luke Akehurst, of the moderate Labour First group, told the JC he believed the actions of the hard-left represented the "vicious bullying" of the MP, who has represented the seat since 1997.

Comparing the treatment of Dame Louise to that dished out to Luciana Berger in neighbouring Liverpool Wavertree, he added: "The targeting of these two Jewish MPs cannot be coincidental - it stinks of antisemitism and misogyny."

Legendary Labour figures such as Harriet Harman were among those to condemn the move against Dame Louise alongside the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Labour Movement.

But the outcry has failed to dent the determination of the hard-left to force the MP - who is chair of Labour Friends of Israel - from her seat.

The two new no-confidence motions now mean three of the six branches in Liverpool Riverside have called for their MP to go.

But it is understood that the activists will this week be warned by North West Labour regional officials that their actions cannot force Dame Ellman out.

Labour has introduced new procedures requiring MPs to justify continued support from local members in a process known as trigger ballots.

There are also concerns among senior Labour figures that the move to oust a 73- year-old Jewish woman is bad for the party's image.

Mr Akehurst, who has been behind attempts to save moderate MPs from being ousted from the party, told the JC: "These no-confidence motions have no standing in the Labour rulebook. The so-called trigger ballot is the only way an MP can be deselected.

"These no-confidence motions are simply the vicious bullying of Louise Ellman, designed to sap her morale before the trigger-ballot selection process.”

He said there had been “a pattern of bullying Dame Louise by hard-left activists in her CLP since 2015 that mirrors the treatment of Luciana in Liverpool Wavertree".

The JC has learned that Jeremy Corbyn attempted to speak to Dame Louise in order to try to defuse anger of her treatment earlier this summer.

A source close to the Labour leader confirmed the pair had a  conversation.

But Mr Corbyn failed to acknowledge there was a growing problem of hard-left entryists in the party who held antisemitic views.

Instead he pointed to Jewish members of his own Islington North constituency who he said were happy in the party.

But sources within the Liverpool Riverside constituency have pointed to the continued campaign of "psychological warfare" against Dame Louise.

Some of the leading campaigners against her have taken to not referring to the MP by her name in what one source told the JC was a stunt aimed at "dehumanising" their elected representative.

"There are several regular attendees at meetings of the Liverpool Riverside Party who delight in standing up and addressing Louise as 'the MP' or at best 'Ms Ellman' to her face,” the source said.

"This is despite the fact that when she attends meetings - and she normally does - Louise makes a point of telling members to call her by her first name.

"It's quite disgusting to watch and see - but it's been going on for months now."

It is also understood that another Liverpool Riverside member was reported to party chiefs after writing a post on social media that compared the exploits of teenage Palestinian campaigner Ahed Tamimi with the Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank.

Labour has failed to act on the complaint so far.