Villages across Britain have contacted an Oxfordshire parish council for advice on replicating its campaign against government plans to accommodate asylum seekers, as Piddington prepares to hold an unprecedented symbolic vote on leaving the UK.
The referendum, which has no legal mechanism to alter the village’s constitutional status, follows a summer of opposition to Labour’s proposal to accommodate up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at converted army barracks near the community.
Piddington, which has about 350 residents, has become a focal point for concerns over the local impact of the government’s asylum accommodation policy. Residents have argued that the proposed facility would place significant pressure on a small community and have raised concerns about safety and security.
Villagers previously backed the referendum in a vote on July 4, the date celebrated in the US as Independence Day.
Tim McNally, chairman of Piddington parish council, said the campaign had attracted interest from parish and town councillors elsewhere in Britain who were facing similar disputes.
“We have been working in the background with other areas who feel the same as us, who feel they have not been represented and been run over roughshod,” he told The Telegraph.
He added: “What has happened to our politics to allow this to happen?
“When I first published the blueprint, I had over 500 inquiries from across the UK, from parish and town councillors. The aim of our referendum is for them to go and do it themselves.”
The campaign has received backing from Reform UK and the Conservatives. Nigel Farage has also pledged to support other villages that seek to hold votes on leaving the UK in protest against asylum accommodation plans.
The dispute comes as ministers seek to move asylum seekers out of hotels and into alternative accommodation, including former military facilities. The policy is intended to reduce the cost of the asylum system and help the government meet its commitment to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029.
Piddington residents have nevertheless been preparing for the possibility that the accommodation will proceed. The village has proposed CCTV cameras, an emergency alert system and security patrols, while some women have said they would begin self-defence classes.
The scale of the proposed accommodation has intensified concerns among residents, with the proposed population of asylum seekers several times larger than the village itself. Reports that the number could eventually rise to more than 3,000 have been rejected by the Home Office.
The Women of Piddington, a group campaigning against the plans, recently wrote to MPs urging them not to abandon the community.
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said he had “begun to become aware” of the Piddington campaign and would listen to residents’ concerns.
“I don’t know the issue yet in detail, but in some ways, as I understand it, it is about creating a secure space and not having the HMO issues that you were talking about earlier,” he said.
“It’s obviously going to be challenging, but I am prepared always to listen to people, to work with people and to pick up legitimate concerns, and I will address those concerns.”
The Home Office has said it is considering former military sites as part of the broader effort to replace hotel accommodation.
A Home Office spokesman said: “It is categorically untrue to suggest we are seeking to house 3,510 people at the MoD Bicester.
“As our planning application clearly states, we are considering the site to accommodate up to 1,256 asylum seekers.”
Piddington’s vote is unlikely to have any direct legal consequences, but the response from other communities suggests that the dispute could become a broader test of how far national asylum policy can be implemented without local consent.
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