Residents of Piddington, a village near Bicester in Oxfordshire, are participating in a symbolic referendum today, 15 September 2026, on whether the village should remain part of the UK. The decision to hold the vote was made in July after the government announced plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby Ministry of Defence (MoD) site.
The proposal involves converting MoD Bicester into basic accommodation for up to 1,256 male asylum seekers. The Home Office stated it is "working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country" and has saved taxpayers over £1bn on asylum support costs since the election.
There is no legal mechanism for a village to declare independence from the UK, making the referendum symbolic. Tim McNally, Chair of Piddington Parish Council, previously said the referendum aims to make the village's voices heard.
The plans, announced in June as part of wider proposals to move people out of hotels, have drawn criticism from the district council and human rights groups. Earlier this month, the government published an Urgent Crown Development application, and a public consultation on the plans is running until midnight on 17 September.
A group of 133 women from Piddington wrote an open letter to all women MPs, stating they faced a "crisis" and that their "safety, security and freedoms will be under threat." The Home Office previously responded that the "concerns of communities" are central to its immigration reforms and that former military sites are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on local communities.