Piddington has voted to secede from the United Kingdom for the second time in a damning rebuke to Home Office plans to leave locals outnumbered by asylum seekers in the Oxfordshire village.
The symbolic referendum – dubbed the “Battle for Britain” by residents – was held by Piddington Parish Council amid Labour proposals to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby disused military site.
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Piddington, which is home to just 350 residents, held its first vote on July 4.
A staggering 96 per cent backed independence, with just seven local residents voting to remain a member of the UK.
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And on Wednesday, the village once again voted to leave.
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Ahead of the result, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told GB News it was “absolutely right” that the Government listens to the village.
“What I would say to the people of Piddington is I think it’s absolutely right and fair that they express their views, and I think it’s absolutely right that the Government listens to those views,” she said.
After casting his vote, 76-year-old Herbert Owen said: “It means everything our grandparents, our parents fought for – today is the Battle of Britain.
“This isn’t just about Piddington, this is about our whole country. This Government is destabilising our country.
“Wherever they put these people, in camps, in HMOs (houses in multiple occupation), or whatever, they’re ruining people’s lives.”
Mr Owen hailed the community as a “wonderful little village” and said it had not changed much since moving there more than three decades ago.
Concern is also mounting at the suitability of the MoD Bicester site set to receive the horde of illegal migrants, with roads around the former base not even having pavements.
According to Government planning documents, the male asylum seekers will be handed “high-visibility vests” should they wish to freely wander into nearby towns.
However, the proposals say that the men will be “strongly encouraged” to catch a lift from the taxpayer-funded shuttle buses, with the garments being distributed “to further emphasise the potential danger”.
The vote in Piddington had drawn the attention of politicians in Westminster, with Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Shadow Equalities Minister Joy Morrisey joining 20 women at the village green earlier this week.
Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Suella Braverman also responded to an open letter penned by a group of Piddington’s female residents, which warned of a looming “crisis” for their “safety, security and freedoms”.
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One local told GB News the village received visits from Reform UK, the Tories, Restore Britain and the Lib Dems in the run-up to the crunch vote – but nobody from the Labour Party had come knocking.
Despite just a handful of residents voting against independence from the UK last time round, one local woman claimed “overt racism” was afoot within the village in opposing the plans.
The local – known only as Rachel – told BBC Newsnight: “I came to England over 35, almost 40 years ago, and I loved it for the diversity and the richness of it.”
Despite saying she had “so much empathy” for the concerns of her fellow villagers, Rachel said her criticisms of the opposition to the plans had caused her to be “seriously othered” by her neighbours.
“One of the things about allyship is that you shouldn’t be expecting black and brown people to defend or stand up to racism,” she added.
And Alice West, 42, claimed it did not matter what the nationality of the men next door was – despite the nation’s shocking migrant crime figures.
“If you added 1,256 males of any demographic to the end of our village, the risk to women would rise, simply because of the arithmetic,” Ms West told The Telegraph.
“We will be outnumbered 10 to one. Put that many men in one place and, statistically, some of them will not be law-abiding, wherever they come from.”
The Home Office attempted to talk down concerns over the migrants earlier this month by opening a public consultation, which runs until midnight on September 17.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1billion on asylum support since the election.
“We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.
“As part of the process, we engage with local authorities and police forces to ensure the safety and security of those in the surrounding area.”
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