'We aren't being heard': The people of Piddington speak up as village hold referendum on leaving UK over migrants
The proposal to house more than 1,250 migrants in a military base would almost quadruple the population of Piddington
Furious residents of a leafy Oxfordshire village voting to leave the UK over plans for a migrant camp nearby say they've been ignored by the government - as it's revealed the asylum seekers will be forced to wear high-vis jackets.
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Piddington residents voted by a large majority to hold the plebiscite after the government announced plans to move 1,250 asylum seekers into a former military depot on the edge of the village.
The proposal would almost quadruple the population of Piddington, which currently stands at just 350, according to the civil parish.
It was revealed today that migrants will be asked to wear high-vis jackets to stop them getting hit by cars on the surrounding roads.
Local resident Alice West said the referendum had been "an incredibly impactful way of showing just how strongly we feel that our voices aren’t being heard."
Ms West, who voted to leave, acknowledged the result would be a "symbolic" one carrying "no legal weight".
She told LBC: "It shows that as a community we’re prepared to do something extraordinary, and perhaps even a bit bonkers, to get the Government’s attention."
The proposal to house the migrants in a former Ministry of Defence storage base close to the village would almost quadruple the population of Piddington, according to the civil parish.
The undocumented migrants would all be adult males who’d be able to freely come and go from the site, which borders a park used by local kids.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds admitted that "none of this is pleasant" but that a military site was more suitable than a hotel in a town or city centre.
He said: “Where in the UK would want more of this? We’ve got to share this throughout the entire nation.”
The senior minister blamed the previous Conservative government for allowing migrant numbers to get "completely out of control" because of an "imaginary proposition that somehow people were going to be sent to Rwanda."
But Ms West said villagers had "never asked to be exempt from doing our fair share" and that the proposals were neither fair nor proportionate.
She added: "I also hope what we’re doing here can become a blueprint for other communities, large or small, facing proposals they believe are fundamentally wrong for everyone involved.
"I hope Piddington can show that there are creative ways to make your voice impossible to ignore."
Downing Street said no final decision had been made on using the MoD Bicester site but the Government wanted to “fairly house asylum seekers across the country”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The concerns of communities are central to our immigration reforms. That’s why we’re closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites.
“We’re working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, engaging with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities.”
The Home Office has submitted an application to obtain planning permission to use the Bicester site “but it remains the case that no final decision has been taken on the site’s future use”.
On July 4, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, 96% of Piddington voters backed holding the unofficial referendum.
Tuesday's ballot will largely be a symbolic one because there is no legal mechanism allowing a village, town or city to declare independence from Britain without Parliamentary approval.
Piddington's parish chairman Tim McNally said he was pushing for the referendum "not just for the village of Piddington, but for the rest of this country".
He compared the arrival of 1,250 people to the village to "adding 32 million people into London overnight".
Cllr McNally has also written to Andy Burnham inviting him to visit Piddington. The new Prime Minister has promised to “take power out of Westminster and carry it into every postcode".
An open letter addressed to female MPs and signed by 133 women in Piddington described how the proposals would threaten their safety.
Appealing to women in Parliament, the letter reads: "As fellow women, you will understand the serious risks this will expose us to. Our safety, our security and our freedoms will be under threat.
"Life as we know it will be destroyed. We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear. As the women of Westminster, you have both the power and the responsibility to speak out and protect us from this plan."
On Monday, about 20 women gathered in Piddington to meet shadow home secretary Chris Philp, shadow minister for women and equalities Joy Morrissey and Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Suella Braverman.
Ms Morrissey, Ms Pochin and Ms Braverman were three of the four MPs, with Conservative MP Sarah Bool, to respond to the open letter from 133 female village residents to all 266 female MPs.
Heidi Meakin, 61, a recently widowed Piddington resident, was one of the women behind the letter, and joined the group at the village green on Monday.
She said she moved to the village because it was quiet, but would no longer feel safe there if the site went ahead.
She said: “I wouldn’t leave my front door unlocked like I do. I would be reluctant to come down here and walk my dog.“This is where all of us come and walk our dogs, meet people, and the kids come down here and play football, and that will change, that will completely change.
“Change the dynamics of the village, change the dynamics of how we feel, and even our daily routine.”
Gloria Brown, 69, who has lived in Piddington for 23 years, said she would stop litter-picking in the village if plans went ahead, something she takes “lots of pride” in doing.
“All my friends in the village call me Madame Cholet,” Ms Brown said. “I wouldn’t be able to do that any more.“
I do it on my own sometimes.”
She added: “How ever am I going to get my mental health back to scale? Because it’s going to make me feel imprisoned in my own village."
"I’ve felt very emotional about it just lately, and it’s just not correct, and it’s totally unfair.”