Village votes 96% in favour of independence ballot to leave the UK over migrant base plans

Villagers incensed by plans for a massive male-only asylum seeker camp have voted to hold a ­referendum on quitting Britain. Piddington, near Bicester, Oxfordshire, drew inspiration from American independence for a ballot put to its around 180 adult residents on July 4 as part of a bid to fight the Home Office.

Locals reacted with fury after it was announced a nearby military storage facility, which has a fence running ­next to many homes, would be turned into accommodation for at least 1,250 single adult male ­asylum seekers aged 18 to 65. Site A also runs directly adjacent to a £7,000 reserve and play area created by the parish council for ­children and families to enjoy.

The Home Office states the base will be used “for a minimum of 10 years” to accommodate “illegal migrants claiming asylum in the UK” who the department admits are made up of a majority of “single adult males”. Letters sent to MoD personnel indicate the first asylum seekers could arrive at the base by the end of this year. Labour is moving away from housing asylum seekers in hotels.

But the latest proposals to use remote rural former MoD sites have attracted heavy ­criticism from locals. In Piddington, where the average detached home is worth around £695,000, locals fear their property values will plummet.

And residents worry gangs of single bored male migrants will prowl the streets making it unsafe for children and women.

Many are also incensed there has been no consultation. Men staying at Site A will not be detained. The Home Office said they would have to follow a sign-in-sign-out process.

In a historic vote on July 4, also famously Independence Day for the United States, locals thronged to the village hall to answer the question: “Do you want a referendum on becoming an independent state?”

The result was 175 voting yes to the ­independence vote, and only seven saying no.

Parish council chair Tim McNally said: “We had an incredible result with almost two-thirds of the village voting, the rest were children, and an acceptance of 96%. It was truly astonishing.

“Self-determination is what people want whilst they are being ignored and driven into a corner. This is a ­natural human instinct and reaction.

“The Principality of Piddington, the village that roared, will put together their council and representatives to empower themselves.

“I have been given the mandate from the village to bring together the best minds and attitude to seek the best solution.”

Mr McNally will now take the result to Cherwell District Council and his MP. Eventually, the hope is to get a declaration of independence to the US ambassador, and then to Donald Trump.

Calum Miller, Lib Dem MP for Bicester and Woodstock, said: “This isolated site is wrong for those ­seeking asylum and wrong for the villages around it.

“Ministers must pause the plan, publish a full impact assessment and come to Bicester to explain ­themselves directly to local people.”

Last month the Home Office said another 20 asylum hotels had been shut, reducing the number to 170.

Figures out in March showed around 20,885 (21%) of asylum seekers were in hotels and 72,768 (75%) were in other accommodation as they awaited decisions on their right to stay in the UK.

The Home Office said: “We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military sites.

“This is an important step in ending the perception you can arrive illegally and be put up in a hotel.

“The population of asylum seekers in hotels has fallen by 35% in the last year and by 63% from the peak under the previous government.

“Overall asylum costs have already fallen by nearly £1billion since this government was elected.”