The Conservatives have urged the Labour government to “wake up” to growing public anger over migration and leave the European Convention on Human Rights, following a symbolic independence referendum in the Oxfordshire village of Piddington.
The referendum, in which 285 residents voted to leave the UK and 26 voted against, was organised in protest against plans to accommodate up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at a former Ministry of Defence site near the village.
The vote has no legal effect but has become a focal point for opposition to the government’s asylum accommodation strategy.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “Piddington’s villagers have spoken – not just for themselves, but for the whole country.
“People are sick of illegal immigrants being foisted on them – whether accommodated in expensive hotels, flats, or military sites.
“We know that these mainly young men have a high propensity to commit rape and sexual assault against women and girls as young as just 12. One illegal immigrant in an asylum hotel even murdered Rhiannon Whyte.
“The Government must now urgently wake up and adopt the Conservative plan to leave the ECHR so illegal immigrants can be rapidly deported – not foisted on communities around the country.
“This should also be a wakeup call for anyone who voted Lib Dem – a party even weaker on border control than Labour.”
Philp’s comments go beyond the specific dispute over the Oxfordshire site, linking the local protest to the Conservatives’ wider proposal to withdraw from the ECHR and change the legal framework governing deportations.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman, also criticised the government, said: “The result in Piddington is evidence that the British people are at breaking point with the illegal migrant invasion.
“Villagers chose to symbolically vote to leave the UK in order to force Labour to acknowledge the real human impact that its failure to stop the boats is having.
“When I visited, mothers told me they were taking self-defence classes with their daughters, while fathers said they were worried sick about the safety of their families.
“But this isn’t isolated to Piddington.”
Yusuf added that Reform would seek to “stop the boats” and deport people it identifies as illegal migrants.
The government has defended the use of former military sites as part of its effort to reduce reliance on asylum hotels. Ministers have argued that the accommodation burden needs to be shared across the country.
The Piddington dispute nevertheless places renewed political pressure on Labour over migration, local consultation and the future of Britain’s asylum system.
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