Residents of Piddington, a small Oxfordshire village of around 350 people, held a symbolic "independence referendum" today to protest government plans to house 1,250 male asylum seekers at a nearby former Ministry of Defence garrison. The vote, which has no legal standing, was organised after villagers said ministers ignored their objections, and campaigners hope it will draw Westminster's attention to their concerns about the scale of the scheme relative to their community.

Villagers' objections centre on road safety, as the surrounding lanes lack pavements and have a 50mph speed limit; planning documents acknowledge the site "lacks safe/pavemented routes" and say high-visibility vests will be issued to migrants leaving on foot to reduce the risk of being hit by traffic. At full capacity, asylum seekers would outnumber residents by almost four to one, and women in the village by around ten to one, prompting additional safety concerns. Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds defended the plan, saying every part of the country must help house asylum seekers, while figures including Rupert Lowe and Suella Braverman have backed the villagers, and other British villages have reportedly sought advice on running similar campaigns. The referendum result was expected around 7am on Wednesday.