The Rwanda plan, first proposed by the Conservative government in April 2022, became law this week - but not without some eleventh-hour parliamentary drama.

In this final week, the bill passed between the House of Commons and the House of Lords - back and forth, back and forth - in a process known as ‘Parliamentary ping-pong’.

This is essentially a process of negotiation in which the number of amendments is whittled down, until either the House of Lords decides to stop pushing the votes or the government offers them concessions.

Politicians and journalists were bracing themselves for a long night with warnings that the back and forth could go on until as late as 2 or 3am.

Over the course of one day, the number of amendments was whittled down from six to just two.

One amendment was about providing extra protections for Afghan interpreters who supported UK Armed forces.

The other was about whether Rwanda was a safe country or not. The government has, despite the evidence and a Supreme Court finding to the contrary, decided to simply declare that Rwanda is safe.

This move had variously been described as trying to legislate that black is white, and led to some branding the legislation “Orwellian” and a “post truth bill.”

By around 10pm, the government had conceded on the first and the House of Lords stopped pushing the second.

For me, the passing of the bill was shameful.

Liberal Democrats voted against the bill at every single opportunity for three key reasons: the bill is inconceivably immoral, entirely unworkable and eye-wateringly expensive.

The £240 million that has already been spent on the scheme - without a single plane taking off - could have paid for 6,000 Home Office caseworkers who could have tackled the backlog of asylum cases or 5.7m GP appointments. And that sum could eventually double.

As Chancellor, Rishi Sunak thought the scheme wasn’t cost effective but as PM he’s pressing ahead. One can only assume he’s hoping it will revive his political fortunes amongst the public, or at least protect him from a leadership challenge from his own backbenchers.

Either way, with the NHS on its knees, a devastating cost of living crisis and opposition parties vowing to repeal the Rwanda Bill if they gain power, one really does have to wonder whether this is anything more than a desperate move from a desperately unpopular Prime Minister.