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England village votes to leave UK in symbolic referendum in protest against asylum plan
The English village of Piddington has overwhelmingly voted to leave the United Kingdom in a symbolic referendum in protest against the government's plan to settle asylum-seekers in a nearby disused military base.
In a symbolic referendum dubbed as the 'Battle for Britain', the English village of Piddington on Tuesday voted to leave the United Kingdom in protest against the government's plan to settle asylum-seekers in a nearby disused military base.
Of the village's 350 residents, 285 voted in favour of leaving the UK and 26 voted against it. The referendum recorded a turnout of 92 per cent.
The referendum stemmed from the Labour government's decision to house around 1,200 migrants in Bicester barracks just six kilometres from the village. This would mean that there would be around four foreigners for every one villager in the area.
In addition to being outnumbered, villagers have complained that they have already begun facing financial consequences of the decision.
"It doesn't matter whether they're priests or vicars, the proportionality isn’t acceptable. Your house value has dropped. We've had a number of house deals cancelled. We've had banks pull mortgages. But overnight, to have that destroyed, ultimately, is disgraceful, and we’ve had no involvement in that process to determine what it means for us," McNally told The London Standard.
The government is housing migrants in Bicester barracks under a policy to use former bases across the UK to accommodate asylum seekers and shutting down the controversial policy of housing migrants in hotels. But the move has sparked concern in nearby communities and protests have been reported elsewhere as well, such as in Suffolk, Thetford, and Norfolk.
'Only poorest communities must not bear asylum-seekers' burden'
After the results were announced, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was unacceptable that the poorer communities must bear the burden of hosting asylum-seekers and communities across UK must share the burden. She stressed the government is cleaning the mess left behind by the previous government.
Nandy told Sky News, "What I would just gently say to the people of Piddington is: we inherited a massive asylum backlog. We are getting that backlog down. We're speeding up the processing of claims, and, in the meantime, we don't think it's acceptable for all of the burden of shouldering not just asylum accommodation, but also many other forms of temporary accommodation, to fall on poorer communities.
"That's what we saw under the previous government. Because accommodation is cheap in many, not just towns, but in particular postcode areas, people who live in more deprived communities have had to put up with almost … every other house in some instances… turned into HMOs, and that is not okay."
The referendum comes as far-right forces are on the rise in the UK and across Europe amid growing anti-migrant sentiment. With the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK and its breakaway party, Restore Britain, the UK has witnessed several rounds of anti-migrant protests and riots in recent years. While most mainstream parties have condemned the violence, they have hardened their stance on migration.