In a vote in the small village of Piddington in Oxfordshire, England, as many as 96 per cent of eligible voters supported a proposal to secede from the United Kingdom.
Piddington is a typical English village with around 400 inhabitants – a quiet, traditional and close-knit community. It now faces dramatic changes: The authorities are planning to establish an asylum accommodation centre (asylmottak) at a former military base adjacent to the village, which will house up to 1,250 single adult male asylum seekers – around three times the village’s entire population.
Fear the village will be changed forever
Connection of electricity, water and sewerage is planned for late August or early September. Local residents say the site was never built for this purpose and that it is located next to a children’s play area.
Residents fear increased crime and insecurity, particularly for women and children, overstretching of the police and local services such as schools, healthcare and infrastructure, as well as a permanent change to the village’s character and social fabric.
‘No one has come to talk to the village about it.’
Piddington resident Ian Darby says his village has voted in a referendum to become independent from the UK in protest against plans for a nearby migrant military camp.
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Support of 96 per cent in a protest vote is exceptionally high and testifies to very strong opposition. Residents feel they are being overruled by a central government in London that is not listening to local concerns.
«Not In My Backyard»
In recent years, several small British communities have protested against the compulsory placement of asylum seekers. The government is struggling to find accommodation for tens of thousands of illegal migrants arriving across the English Channel, and as capacity is overwhelmed in suburban areas, the solution has been to disperse them across small villages.
This has given rise to a “Not In My Backyard” movement whose support extends far beyond groups labelled as the “far right”; these are people who feel that national immigration policy poses a direct threat to their local communities and quality of life.
That a small village of 400 inhabitants is talking about “seceding” from the United Kingdom is, of course, symbolic, but it demonstrates the deep divide between London and ordinary citizens who feel that their identity, security and culture are being forcibly dissolved.