The village of Piddington has voted to leave the United Kingdom in protest against the government’s decision to house migrants in a former military base nearby. The village, home to just 350 people in Oxfordshire, England, held a referendum and voted to leave the UK in a symbolic protest with no legal effect.
The referendum stems from the government’s decision to house migrants in Bicester barracks, just six kilometres from the village. After vowing to end the use of hotels to house migrants, the Labour government has turned to former military bases across the UK to accommodate refugees and asylum seekers, triggering protests in nearby communities including Piddington.
Far-right groups have often criticised the British government’s policy of housing migrants in hotels and have targeted these hotels during protests. Immigration Minister Anna Turley told the BBC on Wednesday that the number of hotels housing migrants had fallen from a peak of 400 under the Conservatives to 160 under Labour, adding that the government had pledged to close all such hotels by 2029. Turley said the government had saved £1 billion by closing hotels and opening alternative secure sites, including two former military bases, student accommodation, and former industrial sites across the UK.
Following the protests, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday that wealthy areas of the UK “must play their part,” adding that the country “cannot have a situation where it’s only the poorest communities in the country” that house asylum seekers.
The development comes as far-right forces are on the rise across the UK and Europe amid growing anti-migrant sentiment, with the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and its breakaway party, Restore Britain, accompanying several rounds of anti-migrant protests and riots in recent years. While most mainstream parties have condemned the violence, they have hardened their own stance on migration under pressure from the far right.
— Daily Archives, World Desk