BACK in 2020 I highlighted in the Greenock Telegraph that the lyrics to The Proclaimers song ‘Scotland’s Story’ contain the words “All through the story the immigrants came, The Gael and the Pict, the Angle and Dane, from Pakistan, England and from Ukraine, We're all Scotland's story and we're all worth the same”.

It also acknowledges many more, the Chinese, Indian, Irish, Italian, Polish, Jew, Lithuanian.

I previously mentioned that in response to the housing of Syrian, Afghanistan and Sudanese refugees in Inverclyde. Something that we should all be incredibly proud of.

Giving sanctuary to people fleeing persecution in their homeland isn’t just a Christmas message.

But the latest twist to this at a UK level is the Rwanda bill.

While I am disgusted by the bill, I am heartened by the number of constituents that have written to me expressing their anger at this shameful bill that 'rips basic human rights away from people seeking safety in the UK, puts everyone else’s rights at risk and places the Government above the law'.

This bill also declares that Rwanda is a safe place, which it clearly isn’t. Yet another example of this UK Government’s propaganda machine, repeating a lie often enough in the belief that makes it a truth.

The Conservative and Unionist party have been torn apart by this bill but only because some think it doesn’t go far enough.

In the end the rebels couldn’t bring themselves to vote either way, such is their lack of conviction for anything that doesn’t benefit them.

The government carried the day and the bill moved on. How long this government can survive remains to be seen.