Why a small village in England just voted to leave the UK

Everyone wants independence at the moment

The small settlement of Piddington in Oxfordshire took to the polls on Tuesday (15 September) to vote on becoming independent from the UK.

By Wednesday morning, the results were announced, revealing that the village had voted to leave the country by a landslide.

Out of 312 votes cast, 285 voted to leave, while there were 26 no votes, and one ballot paper was spoiled.

The population of the village, as per the 2021 census, was 358 people.

The vote remains entirely symbolic, however, because - of course - villages, towns and cities cannot just vote to leave the UK.

Piddington took to the polls on Tuesday. Image: Getty.

Why did the village hold an 'independence vote' in the first place

Villages don't just hold independence referendums for nothing, and this one came in protest of plans to house around 1,200 migrants at a former military base nearby, proposed by the Home Office

Speaking to the BBC after the result, council chair Tim McNally said: "This is an example of democracy in operation.

"We went into this village hall as the underdogs - we had a plucky idea. We have given a message to the world."

MoD Bicester is known as "Site A" and has previously been earmarked for an asylum seeker accommodation centre all the way back in 2005 - although these plans were abandoned.

The current proposals have caused a stir, being weaponised by the far-right, but has also drawn criticism from Lib Dem MP for Bicester, Calum Miller.

A public consultation on the plans is now running until midnight on 17 September.