East Renfrewshire is ‘more British’ than the average town or city in Scotland, according to a new report.

Latest figures published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that, last year, just 3% (around 3,000 people) of the local authority’s population were non-British nationals.

In comparison, 8% (406,000 people) of Scotland’s total population were non-British nationals last year.

East Renfrewshire also had a higher proportion of people of European descent, with around two-thirds of non-British nationals living in the local authority area being from the EU, compared to the national average of 61% across the country.

Polish was the most common non-British nationality in Scotland, with 92,000 Polish nationals living in the country.

This represented 23% of the total non-British population.

Cities also had the largest proportion of non-British residents.

The highest percentage was in Aberdeen, where this applied to one in five people, followed by Edinburgh (19%) and Glasgow (12%).

In comparison, East Renfrewshire ranked 21st out of the 32 local authorities in Scotland.

Renfrewshire South MSP Tom Arthur, whose constituency includes Barrhead, Neilston and Uplawmoor, said the impact of Brexit is having a negative impact on the local economy.

He told the Barrhead News: “People across Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, recognising the enormous contribution that EU citizens make to our economy, communities and wider society.

“We are now seeing the consequences of the Tories’ reckless Brexit, with critical shortages of labour across a range of key sectors and businesses struggling to recruit staff.

“Scotland needs full powers over migration so that we can grow our working-age population to deliver the economic growth we need to support our public services and build a more prosperous future.”

Last week, the Barrhead News told how East Renfrewshire residents have a longer average life expectancy than those in Scotland as a whole.

Data from NRS shows a baby girl born in the Barrhead area can now expect to live to 84 – three years beyond the Scottish average.

And men in East Renfrewshire can expect to live to at least 79 – above the national average of 77.