Oxfordshire village symbolically votes to leave the UK over asylum housing plan

Residents of the small Oxfordshire village of Piddington, near Bicester, have taken part in a symbolic referendum on becoming independent from the United Kingdom. The vote was staged as a protest against Home Office proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at the nearby former MoD Bicester military base.

The referendum was organised by the local parish council and was open to all of the village's roughly 350 residents. A ballot box was placed outside the village hall, which serves as the community's main meeting point.

Of the 312 votes cast, 285 favoured the village leaving the UK, 26 voted to remain, and one ballot paper was spoiled.

Reaction to the result

Announcing the outcome, parish council vice chair Susannah Parden described Piddington as "the village that roars." Council chair Tim McNally called the result an example of democracy in action, saying residents had entered the process as underdogs with what he called a plucky idea, and that they had succeeded in sending a message to the world.

The referendum carries no legal weight and does not change Piddington's status within the UK. It nonetheless reflects local frustration with government plans to use the nearby former military site to house asylum seekers.