‘Battle of Britain’: Piddington goes to the polls in ‘independence’ voteResidents of Piddington, Oxfordshire, are casting their vote on whether to secede from the United Kingdom in a symbolic ‘referendum’.Piddington residents have been voting in a symbolic independence ‘referendum’ (Joe Giddens/PA)PA WireIzzie Addison2 minutes ago
A pensioner who lives in an Oxfordshire village which could house more than 1,000 asylum seekers has declared a symbolic independence referendum the “Battle of Britain”.
Piddington residents are voting on whether to secede from the UK and become an independent state, after the Government announced plans to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.
Residents have been invited to cast their ballot in a small box outside the village hall, the community hub of Piddington, which does not have any pubs, cafes or shops.
A pennant hanging outside the hall reads “Battle for Britain 2026”, and another commemorates the date of the Second World War military campaign the Battle of Britain, on September 15 1940.
Herbert Owen, known in the village as Herbie, said the independence referendum “isn’t just about Piddington”.
After casting his vote, Mr Owen told the Press Association: “It means everything our grandparents, our parents fought for – today is the Battle of Britain.
“This isn’t just about Piddington, this is about our whole country. This Government is destabilising our country.
“Wherever they put these people, in camps, in HMOs, or whatever, they’re ruining people’s lives.”
Mr Owen, 76, described Piddington, which has a population of about 350, as a “wonderful little village”, which has not seen much change since he moved there 33 years ago.
Piddington has been flooded with members of the media covering the vote, and dozens of journalists filled the village hall in the otherwise quiet village.
More than 1,000 male asylum seekers could be housed at the former military base (Joe Giddens/PA)PA Wire
Mr Owen said: “We need the media to support us. We’ve got more publications and more TV than any marches, riots.
“But if the Government doesn’t do something, I’m afraid for the country. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I feel for the country, for the people.”
Mr Owen’s wife, Jennifer, told PA she felt villagers’ concerns have been ignored by the Government, which did not initially put proposals forward for public consultation.
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“It’s like we’re nobody. The village is nobody, according to the Government,” she said.
The perimeter of the proposed site backs on to the tree line of a village green in Piddington, which is owned by the parish council and has children’s play equipment and a fitness trail.
Piddington residents cast their votes at the village hall (Ben Whitley/PA)PA Wire
Mrs Owen said she felt the site was unsuitable and had concerns about the safety of children and dog walkers who use the area.
She said: “I’m an old-age pensioner, but I fear for the women and the children in the village.
“They won’t be safe to go out in the village, not on their own, they’ll have to have their husbands with them.
“It will wreck children’s lifestyle, their livelihoods.”
Mrs Owen said most people in Piddington know one another and talk when they are out and about, or while they visit the occasional pop-up bar in the village hall.
She said the site would “change our lives forever” if it were to go ahead.
Asked how it felt to cast her ballot in the symbolic vote, Mrs Owen said: “Bit of sense of power.
“We can’t actually leave the United Kingdom, but it just brings things out in the open more for the country as a whole.
“All the parish councils in the country should do the same thing.”
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
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