𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Cabinet Minister Lisa Nandy has warned Labour will continue with its policy of moving asylum seekers into wealthier areas after an Oxfordshire village voted overwhelmingly to become an independent state in a symbolic “referendum”. The people of Piddington have voted to secede from the UK after the Government announced plans to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.

Ms Nandy, the Culture Secretary, admitted people in her own constituency of Wigan would probably vote to quit the UK too, because they were also angry about asylum seekers moving into their communities. But in a blunt message to the people of Piddington, the Labour MP said there would be no change of policy.

Ms 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. 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.”

She said residents in Wigan had been angry when local hotels were used to house asylum seekers.

“If you’d had this referendum in my town, which is a very welcoming town … when those two asylum hotels were opened up I think you would have got the same result to be frank.”

Some 285 Piddington villagers backed “independence”, with a turnout of nearly 92%. Only 26 residents voted against the motion, with one spoiled ballot recorded. 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.

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

Speaking to the Press Association while villages voted on Tuesday, parish chairman Tim McNally said the vote was about “hope” for residents.

He said: “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.

“We’ve had people who’ve got pensions in their properties have to be revaluated, because the value of their property is no longer what it was.

“That’s not about saying this is a wealthy area, this is no more wealthy than any other village around the country, but people work very hard, and they worked hard to earn what they’ve made, and they should be entitled to have what they’ve made.

“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.”

Parish councillor Mike Nixon said the site has no pedestrian access areas, and the Government has suggested issuing asylum seekers with high-visibility jackets to keep them safe while walking along a busy road.

He told PA: “The nearest path is about a mile and a quarter away, down a very busy road that’s unlit.

“Their (the Government’s) own document says it’s not recommended that pedestrian access is used, so they’re proposing that residents would use the shuttle bus service from the site.

“And to further discourage them, they’re suggesting that should they walk, they would be issued high-vis jackets, and that’s the only mitigation for the residents’ safety.

“The road itself, the B4011, is a busy road, 50-mile-an-hour speed limit, but vehicles will regularly go in excess of that, so it is likely that there would be significant risk of road traffic collisions, injury, or even death, should the plan go ahead.”

Mr Nixon added that the proposed site is prone to surface water flooding, has an inadequate foul water drainage system, and an insufficient power supply.