English Village Votes to Leave the UK over Migrant Housing Plan
Villagers backed secession in a non-binding vote as officials said the proposed site would house up to 1,200 asylum seekers.
- On Wednesday, residents of Piddington, Oxfordshire, voted symbolically to secede from the United Kingdom, protesting Government plans to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.
- The Government intends to use the disused military site for at least 10 years to house single adult male asylum seekers, officials claiming this closes hotels and saves taxpayers over £1 billion since the election.
- Branded the 'Battle for Britain,' the referendum saw 285 villagers support 'independence' with roughly 92 per cent turnout; only 26 locals opposed the move, which local parish council chair Tim McNally called a 'very British thing.'
- Oxfordshire County Council leader Tim Bearder accused the Government of proposing the plan 'without engaging with local people,' while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stated the asylum backlog must not 'fall on poorer communities.'
- Safety concerns regarding the B4011 road persist, as the Government proposes issuing high-visibility jackets to asylum seekers walking an unlit route. Similar protests against housing asylum seekers have occurred in other areas around Britain.
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183 Articles
Linton-on-Ouse: Campaigners hail Oxfordshire village's protest vote - but won't follow suit
Campaigners against an asylum centre opening in a North Yorkshire village say the people of Piddington have done a “really good job”, but they will not be following suit.
A village in the UK with approximately 350 residents symbolically declared independence after holding a referendum to protest plans to house around 1,200 asylum seekers at a nearby facility. The BBC and other media outlets reported on the 16th (local time) that in the referendum held in Feedington, Oxfordshire, 2 out of 312 voters
Residents of the village of Piddington in Oxfordshire, UK, declared independence from the UK in opposition to the government's plan to accept 1,256 refugees, which is four times the population. Although it has no legal effect, it is a symbolic measure expressing the residents' strong rejection of the government's immigration policy.
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