Residents in tiny village Piddington holding referendum on leaving the UK amid migrant row

Residents in tiny village Piddington holding referendum on leaving the UK amid migrant row Communities living in Piddington, Oxfordshire, are furious after the Home Office announced plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby Ministry of Defence (MoD) site A tiny country village is holding a symbolic independence referendum in protest at plans to house more than 1,000 migrants at a former military base. Many residents in Piddington, Oxfordshire, are angry at the proposal, which would see 1,256 male asylum seekers move into the site. Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds has defended the plan to accommodate asylum seekers, but Piddington is poised to go ahead with its bizarre referendum. In an open letter to female MPs, a group of 133 Piddington residents — all women — have expressed concerns their "safety, security and freedoms will be under threat". The letter reads: "Life as we know it will be destroyed. We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear." Gloria Brown, who has lived in Piddington for 23 years, said she would stop litter-picking in the village if plans went ahead, something she takes "lots of pride" in doing. The 69-year-old woman added: "How ever am I going to get my mental health back to scale? Because it's going to make me feel imprisoned in my own village." Under the plans, MoD Bicester could be converted into basic accommodation to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers. The Home Office said it was "working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country" and that it had saved taxpayers over £1billion on asylum support costs since the election. There is no legal mechanism allowing a village, town or city to declare independence from the UK, so Piddington's vote would only be symbolic. But residents there say it would highlight their concerns about the changing dynamic to their village, which is near Bicester in East Oxfordshire. Heidi Meakin, 61, a recently widowed Piddington resident, was one of the women behind the letter. She said: "I wouldn’t leave my front door unlocked like I do. I would be reluctant to come down here and walk my dog. “This is where all of us come and walk our dogs, meet people, and the kids come down here and play football, and that will change, that will completely change. Change the dynamics of the village, change the dynamics of how we feel, and even our daily routine." Piddington‘s population stood at 358 in 2021, according to the latest Census data available. The referendum there has been organised by Piddington Parish Council, following a vote supporting the idea. Tim McNally, chairman of Piddington Parish Council, said he was fearful over security after the Home Office announced its plans. Since the criticism over the plans, the convicted criminal behind the masked anti-migrant group Patriot Platform said he wants to target asylum centres. Danny 'Tommo' Thomas specifically mentioned the base in Piddington during an interview with the Mirror last week. But Mr Reynolds, the senior minister, said today every part of the country must be prepared to take in asylum seekers. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, he added: "None of this is pleasant. None of this is easy. It comes from the fact that the system was completely out of control. "None of this was being dealt with because there was this imaginary proposition that somehow people were going to be sent to Rwanda." A Home Office spokesperson said: "The government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1bn 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."