A TINY village will head to the polls tomorrow to decide if they leave the UK amid fury over a migrant centre.
Tuesday will be a landmark moment for around 350 residents in Piddington, Oxfordshire, who are fighting against the conversion of a former Ministry of Defence garrison into a hub for undocumented migrants.
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Around 96 per cent of villagers expressed their support for the referendum in a symbolic vote on July 4, America’s Independence Day,
There is currently no legal mechanism which would allow a village to declare independence from the UK.
The unprecedented move could only go ahead if the Government and Parliament were to give it the green light – but fuming locals insist it’s their only option.
It comes as recently-released documents revealed the centre would potentially house 3,510 asylum seekers, more than double the original proposal of 1,256.
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The Home Office maintained these were only early drafts, despite being dated in 2026.
The update stoked anger among already furious Piddington locals, who fear their tiny community will be swamped.
Graham Rixon, a resident of Piddington, said: “It’s completely inappropriate.
“We’re a village of 350 people – there’s another village down the road of even less people, and they’re going to dump 1,200 people here.
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“Most of them probably won’t speak the language, so there’s going to be communication problems.
“We haven’t had any detail of how it’s going to work, so if it does go through, it’ll be a mess – inadequate provision has been made.
“We’re supposed to live in a democracy, and this is just trying to bypass democracy and get it all done before anyone notices.”
Piddington residents are not alone in their battle, with influential figures from across the pond giving their two cents worth on the issue.
Trillionaire Elon Musk has openly expressed his support for the villagers, posting: “What has happened to towns who did nothing to deserve it, like little Piddington village, will happen to all of Britain unless there is a fundamental policy change.”
Villagers also called on President Donald Trump to back their campaign, with parish councillor Joe Marshall, 26, pointing to his love of rural English life.
“Donald Trump loves old quaint English villages, but he’s not so keen on migrants,” he said.
“So we are sure he would not let this happen to us.”
The Home Office announced plans to house refugees at the sprawling Bicester Garrison site back in June.
The scheme will see single migrant men from several different countries flock to the quiet Oxfordshire village in November.
While they will have the freedom to leave the camp and stroll into the village or travel to nearby towns, none of them will be allowed to work.
Locals have described the referendum as a “cry to be heard” as they insist they won’t simply “sit back and accept this”.
Electrical engineer Mario Terzino, 61, said: “We are particularly angry that there no consultation about this, no advance warning. Instead, we learned about it through the media.
“This is a tranquil little village of just 350 souls and two thirds of those are women or children.
“We’re not equipped to have more than 1,000 young men, most of whom won’t speak English, descending on us.”
The Piddington feud represents Labour’s wider scheme to convert old Ministry of Defence facilities into migrant housing as they close asylum hotels.
The plans have sparked controversy and fury across the country – with huge protests erupting following the takeover of an army site in Crowborough, East Sussex, earlier this year.
Images of men in black balaclavas storming the port of Dover in early September to protest the arrival of migrants reflects the sharp uptick in anti-immigrant sentiment.
So too did footage of hundreds of locals blocking new migrant boats leaving Portsmouth.
Both scenes pointed to a government losing its grip on the escalating immigration crisis, with ministers and cops braced for further unrest.
Responding to concerns around the Piddington proposal, the Home Office said: “It is categorically untrue to suggest we are seeking to house 3,510 people at MoD Bicester.
“As our planning application clearly states, we are considering the site to accommodate up to 1,256 asylum seekers.
“The concerns of communities are central to our immigration reforms.
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“That is why we are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites.”