Piddington Villagers Vote to Secede as Principality of Piddington Over Asylum Seeker Camp

Piddington villagers backed a symbolic break from the United Kingdom by 285 votes to 26 on September 16, 2026, protesting plans to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at the nearby MoD Bicester site. One ballot was spoiled.

The Oxfordshire village, near Bicester, has about 350 residents. The proposed accommodation site lies about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) away.

Parish council chair Tim McNally said the result sent a message beyond the village. He declared that the community would now be known as the “Principality of Piddington.”

“We have given an absolute message, not just to the region, not just to the country, but to the world,”

The referendum had no legal force. It could not change the United Kingdom’s constitutional arrangements or decide whether the former military site receives asylum accommodation.

The ballot delivered a protest, not a constitutional break

The parish council organized the poll, which ran from 07:00 to 19:00 BST. Residents were asked to endorse the statement: “I support Piddington seeking to secede from the United Kingdom and pursuing self-determination.”

Susannah Parden, vice chair of the parish council, announced that 312 votes had been counted. That represented nearly 92% of the ballot papers issued, she said.

“We had 312 votes counted, which is nearly 92% of the ballot papers issued.”

The organizers framed the vote as a response to the proposed development at MoD Bicester. The site is a former military facility, and the proposed use would provide non-detained asylum accommodation under a 10-year plan.

Residents object to the scale and location of the proposed accommodation

Local critics have focused on the ratio between the village population and the proposed number of residents at the site. McNally described the dispute as a question of proportionality and said the government was “trying to rush this whole plan through.”

He also said:

“For us, it's about proportionality — how does a small village of 350 odd people assimilate with 1,250 males?”

Residents have cited safety, crime, consultation and pressure on local life. They object to placing more than 1,200 single adult men beside a community of roughly 350 people.

The accommodation plan concerns up to 1,256 male asylum seekers. The site is about half a mile from the village.

The Home Office says former military sites can spread the burden

The government has defended the wider policy behind the proposal. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said ministers were working to reduce the asylum backlog and argued that poorer areas should not carry most of the accommodation burden.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government was distributing asylum seekers across the country and using former military sites instead of relying only on expensive hotels.

“We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.”

The department also said authorities were engaging with local police and councils to address safety. Officials described the proposed facility as “self-contained.”

That position has not persuaded local opponents. Their objection centers on the site’s size, its proximity to the village and the way the proposal was communicated.

Planning officials have not yet settled the site’s future

The Home Office has submitted a planning application for asylum accommodation at Bicester. The application remains under consideration, and no final decision has been taken on the site’s future use.

The referendum therefore changes the political pressure around the proposal, not its legal status. The parish council’s vote cannot approve or reject the application.

Ministers have said they will consider community concerns while continuing the broader effort to use alternative accommodation. The site’s intended self-contained design is part of that argument.

The stunt also drew on a familiar British cultural reference. The 1949 Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico features a neighborhood declaring independence, a premise echoed by the village’s mock secession campaign.

Residents put up a sign declaring the “Principality of Piddington” after the result. The planning application now remains the formal next step for the proposed 10-year accommodation scheme.