Tiny Oxfordshire village Piddington votes to leave the UK in protest at plans to house migrants nearby

An Oxfordshire village has “voted” to become independent from the UK in protest at the government’s plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby former military base .

The proposal, which would mean 1,256 people would move into the base near Piddington, has sparked anger among many village residents.

Residents cast their ballots in the symbolic and unofficial referendum on Tuesday. It came after, on 4 July, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, 96 per cent of Piddington voters backed holding the referendum .

On Tuesday, their ballots were returned into a small box outside the village hall, the community hub of the village of 350 people, which does not have any pubs, cafes or shops.

The result was announced by a returning officer to an audience of dozens of journalists and residents gathered outside the village hall on Wednesday morning.

The people of Piddington voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from the UK.

Some 285 villagers backed “independence”, with a turnout of nearly 92 per cent.

Only 26 residents voted against the motion, with one spoiled ballot recorded.

A pennant reading Battle for Britain 2026 was hanging outside the village hall, alongside another commemorating the date of the Second World War military campaign, the Battle of Britain, on 15 September 1940.

Piddington parish councillor Joe Marshall has suggested the village could go as far as electing leaders for the new “principality”.

When asked how far the village is prepared to take its “independence” claim, Mr Marshall said it will come down to how much the government is willing to engage with them.

“We’ll probably go through and elect some leaders and all that kind of thing to really hammer it home.

“I’ve mentioned to people before about the Principality of Sealand, which is out off the coast of Norwich somewhere, and they have it where they’ve got their own national teams and they’ve got their own stamp and their own symbolic citizenship card and things like that.

“We can really play with it, but I think what we would do more than anything is encourage other areas that don’t support what’s going on in their areas to push for similar things.”