Residents of Piddington in Oxfordshire are preparing to vote on whether their village should seek to leave the United Kingdom, amid opposition to plans to accommodate more than 1,250 asylum seekers at a former Ministry of Defence site nearby.
The symbolic referendum will ask: “Yes or No: I support Piddington seeking to secede from the United Kingdom and pursuing self-determination.” The result is due to be announced on Wednesday morning, after voting takes place on Tuesday.
Piddington has a population of about 358 people. Campaigners say the proposed accommodation would bring a large number of single male asylum seekers to the edge of the village, where there are no shops or cafés.
The ballot will be conducted with numbered voting papers and a secret vote, but it has not been authorised by the Government and will have no legal force. A local council official has warned residents that holding it is illegal.
Piddington referendum on leaving the UK
Despite the constitutional language, the vote is intended to highlight residents’ opposition to the Home Office plans and what they describe as a lack of consultation. The proposal forms part of the Government’s effort to move small-boat arrivals out of hotels.
The campaign has attracted support from a broad section of the village, including farmers, accountants, engineers, builders, housewives and public servants. Many of those involved are women, and the organisers have sought to distance themselves from far-right protests seen elsewhere.
A group calling itself the Women of Piddington has issued an open letter to every female MP, asking for support over the proposed arrival of single foreign men. The 133 signatories said: “They would outnumber us ten to one. As fellow women, you will understand the serious risks.”
The group has also organised a self-defence course, with all 26 places taken. Campaigners say their concerns centre on safety and the effect of a rapid increase in the local population.
Krissy Honour, a farmer with a 13-year-old daughter, said: “She’s got her own flock of sheep on our smallholding right next to the MoD. I won’t be letting her out to look after them if we have no idea who these men are.”
Some residents have also raised concerns about the site itself. Farmer Joy Haw-Cook has been examining the possible impact on bats, including a species she said was listed as one of the rarest and most elusive mammals in the UK.
She told a village meeting: “You can’t disturb very rare bats until the breeding season is over. A judge could put an injunction on the site until May.”
The referendum follows an earlier vote in July on whether Piddington should hold a ballot on independence. Residents backed that proposal overwhelmingly, with polling carried out at the village hall.
Tim McNally, the parish council chairman and the organiser of the campaign, said the date had been chosen before the deadline for responses to the Government’s consultation on the planned development. The consultation has been described by residents as a process that will not alter the eventual decision.
The proposed site has previously been linked to a possible accommodation centre for up to 3,500 asylum seekers, although officials have denied that figure represents the current plan.
Opponents have formed a wider group, Wrong Plan. Wrong Site, which is seeking a judicial review of the Home Office decision. The campaign has the support of Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock.
Mr Miller said: “Residents across our community have worked to expose the serious flaws in the proposal to build an asylum centre at MoD Bicester.”
He added: “My goal has been to unite the various local groups around a community-based, inclusive campaign so that our area speaks with one voice to Government in expressing our opposition. I have challenged the Prime Minister to live up to his pledge to give agency and control back to local areas.”
Mr Miller has declined to say how he would vote in the referendum if he lived in Piddington. Cherwell District Council has directed questions about the asylum centre to the Home Office, while the Home Office has said it is committed to moving small-boat arrivals out of hotels.
Campaigners have embraced the idea of Piddington becoming a self-governing principality, modelled on countries such as Monaco or Liechtenstein. They are even developing a flag and promotional material, while looking to attract younger support through social media.
However, the language of independence is being used to draw attention to a local dispute rather than to create a legally recognised state. Whatever the result announced on Wednesday, the Government’s plans for the former MoD site will not be determined by the ballot.
