Up next in 10
LBC's Benji Hyer reports live from Piddington as the sleepy village votes to leave the UK in a symbolic referendum.
People who live there are furious and want to separate from the UK and become an independent state, after the Government announced plans to house hundreds of male asylum seekers near the town, which locals say will not be able to cope with the influx.
Some 285 villagers backed "independence", with a turnout of nearly 92%. Only 26 residents voted against the motion, with one spoiled ballot recorded.
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0:00
Welcome to Piddington. No post office, no shop, not even a pub. Population 350. Soon to be 1600
0:10
Why? Because the government wants to house 1,250 asylum seekers at a former military facility
0:19
just down the road. And locals aren't happy about it. They'd be outnumbered four to one
0:25
So what would you do about it? Well, residents here have come up with a radical proposal
0:32
a referendum held to decide whether this village should leave the UK
0:43
It's sunrise in Piddington. The time is, what, quarter to seven? And it's Independence Day
0:49
We're minutes away from finding out whether villagers here have voted to leave the UK over the government's plans
0:56
to house over 1,000 asylum seekers just down the road. We're on our way to the village hall to see the result
1:06
It's quite an unusual scene. You might not have expected half of the national media
1:10
to be here in this tiny village early in the morning, but it shows how important this referendum is
1:17
It's not legally binding in any sort of way, but it is highly symbolic and the locals here want to send a powerful message to this government
1:30
Well, this is the moment. They're about to announce the results of the referendum
1:35
Last night, following our village meeting, the votes were counted and verified
1:42
We had 312 votes counted, which is nearly 92% of the ballot papers issued
1:54
And the results are as follows. We had 285 yes votes
2:12
We had 26 no votes and we had one ballot paper that was spoiled and will not be included
2:25
in this account. Wow, good morning. Thank you everyone for coming, especially in the village on this incredible day
2:32
Yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Britain and for us it was the Battle for Britain
2:39
We've been identified as ground zero for a whole number of issues
2:44
I just want to say something to Andy Burnham. This is an example of democracy in operation
2:52
This is an example of a mandate of behaviour. Tim, Benji Hyer with LBC
2:59
You say that this is just the beginning, this is just the start, that you want to try to help others
3:03
How are you going to try to take this message, this campaign, nationwide
3:09
I've got ways and means. The blueprint we've got is actually about getting the grassroots
3:13
of people's politics reunited. This is so flat as politics goes
3:24
But parish councils are responsible for listening to people on the ground
3:28
and helping them with their problems, not to be the ones stopping things from being done
3:33
They've got to be people who make things happen. And that's something I'm getting across from the entire country
3:39
Parish councils are now going to start to have to do their work because I've had many people say
3:43
my parish council just doesn't work for us, and we've got big problems. And I've got other parish councils saying
3:48
we love what you do, can we do what you do? Show us
3:52
So it's a start, it's a seed. Pittington is the seed, we are the soil
3:57
and we are the fertiliser Look the dust has settled and the news is really settling in now The reality has hit that this is no longer the village of Piddington it is the principality of Piddington after that symbolic referendum result
4:12
which was announced just here, in fact, outside the village hall. We had the chairman of the parish council, Tim McNally
4:21
not just declaring the result, but also speaking about how important this is for the Piddington community
4:28
but also the nation as a whole, because this really is a microcosm of a national debate
4:34
that the government has planning to put asylum seekers not just in former military facilities here
4:39
but across the country. And the mood, the message from residents and locals
4:45
is that they want to take this campaign up and down the United Kingdom
4:49
This is not the end. They haven't played all their cards. In fact, this is just the beginning
4:54
and they feel the anger, the fury and the frustration of communities across Britain
5:01
The reality is that the government says it's going to continue with its plans
5:06
that it was handed a huge backlog in terms of asylum cases
5:10
that the disused military site here is going to be far better than housing asylum seekers in hotels
5:16
and that this burden, as the government calls it, has to be carried across the nation
5:21
not just by poorer communities, but in places here like Peddington. But some residents I've spoken to feel that this is enough
5:29
that this campaign that has sort of gripped this nation may be enough to force the government to do a U-turn
5:37
They do want members of the government to come here and see for themselves why this site is potentially unfit for the migrants
5:46
and indeed for the population who will be outnumbered by a ratio of four to one
5:52
What's your initial reaction to the referendum? You sought independence, you voted for independence
5:57
Absolutely. Relief as much as anything. I had a feeling the result would be the way it was
6:01
and I'm just excited now that we can carry on this challenge. And why is it so important to you
6:06
What is your connection to this village? So our daughter's buried in the village
6:12
I've got three young children. My wife has been born and bred in this village
6:17
She's got five generations of family from this village. This is a really tight-knit community
6:21
and I'm not one person to sit here now and say that anybody in this village
6:25
that voted left-wing or right-wing, we are a community. We all share the same thoughts
6:30
We all care about each other. But more than anything, me as a person, I care about this country
6:35
and I feel that I'm asking this government to step up, do their job, and sort out the mess that this country's in
6:40
We've had enough. What are your main concerns about the idea of keeping about 1,250 asylum seekers at this site just down the road from this village
6:51
I spend a lot of time at the park that backs onto the site. We know nothing about these people
6:56
I feel that for me, don't get me wrong, the odd person here and there is claiming genuine asylum
7:02
But nowadays what we are finding is that a lot of these people are economic asylum seekers that aren't coming here for the right reasons
7:09
We don't know anything about them. They chucked their passport away for a reason. And I think it's about time we spoke about that
7:15
because this country's had enough. You can see it with a small village like us. If we're just a small village, imagine how these towns and cities feel
7:22
Why do you feel genuinely scared at the notion of asylum seekers moving in close by
7:27
Yeah, so for me personally, it's not because they're asylum seekers, it's because they're men, and they're men abandoned in the middle of nowhere
7:35
with a nothing to do. 1,256 of them literally on a piece of concrete land riddled with asbestos with nothing to do
7:45
The closest town is six mile walk away. So yeah, absolutely, they're going to walk around absolutely fine
7:51
But this is for the course of 10 years and these men are going to be rotated every 90 days
7:56
It takes one lunatic to do something terrible And we spoken to rural policing there about six officers who look after over 40 villages within this region within Oxfordshire Their advice was don put yourself
8:11
into situations where something might happen so don't walk your dog outside your house essentially
8:16
and if something does happen the best thing you can do is run and hide and that's the police
8:21
saying that. There's been no extra funding for police, been no communication from the home office
8:27
to us or how we can protect ourselves. Any protection, there's been no funding to us as a parish
8:33
for security cameras or anything like that. So yeah, like I say, we have been abandoned here
8:38
and the fact that it's 1,000 men is why I'm worried about security
8:43
So the authorities are effectively saying, there's nothing we can do, you have to take your own safety into your own hands
8:50
Yeah, exactly. We've been totally abandoned to look after ourselves. And like I said, there's only 300 adults here
8:54
and there is a lot of old people here and they're not going to know what to do
8:59
So the referendum result's been announced. That means that Piddington is quote-unquote independent
9:05
and that means they've got to change the signs. In fact, they're putting up new ones entirely
9:16
Tim, Parrish's chair turned what? Prime Minister of this principality. Not yet
9:21
No, no. And actually it will never be. That's not what this is about. What this is about very simply is fixing a problem
9:25
and I'm going to pass it back. A bit more George Washington type. You say fixing a problem
9:30
The government does plan to house asylum seekers here. This referendum, symbolic, yes, but not binding
9:35
So frankly, it's not going to stop it, is it? It might not. But look at what it's done
9:40
Look at what it's going to have to deal with if it comes. Look at the sort of people that are going to be in their way
9:46
We've not done any protests. We've not done any marches. But we've gone right to the political jugular
9:52
And they're feeling it. They can't deny it. The government has said that this burden, as they call it, as they admit to it
9:59
this burden of housing asylum seekers is going to have to be carried and felt by all communities, rich and poor
10:06
Do you not understand that, frankly, these people have to go somewhere? Where are they now
10:12
Where are they now? Yeah, they might have to go somewhere. But what are they actually doing
10:17
They're actually processing. They're not sending anyone back. They're absorbing them in. and they're moving them from government to county costs
10:25
The cost of this process, at which they're saying they're saved a billion pounds, is not saved
10:29
They've just lost it under another cost centre. It's a ridiculous bravado situation
10:35
We've got to sort out the cause of this problem. Say Andy Burnham turns up here
10:39
Maybe he wants to listen to you. What do you have to say to him? You'd better make an appointment first and bring his passport
10:45
So I just want to give you a flavour of what this tiny leafy town is actually like
10:51
We're on the main street here of Piddington and, well, this is all there is to it
10:57
It might be the quietest road I've ever been on, frankly. It's just one or two houses with lovely thatched roofs
11:07
beautiful open front gardens as well. And that's pretty much this entire village
11:16
As we approach sort of this junction here, if you can call it that, this is the main centre point of Piddington
11:24
The road runs down there. It runs just to beyond that corner
11:31
And then around there is the village hall. And beyond that, it's pretty much just fields and the asylum site
11:40
So just on the side of this main road is the Ministry of Defence facility
11:45
where these migrants would supposedly be kept if these government plans go ahead
11:51
You can see the entrance just here. It's fully gated off. And it just on the other side of the field and beyond that the village of Piddington itself We going to see how close we can actually get I been here before and security sometimes come out and start asking questions and start filming but we going to walk right up to
12:11
the gate so you can get a sense of what is happening. And as you can see very clearly
12:16
there are trucks and lorries coming in and out, providing materials that would be needed, I presume
12:22
to start getting this camp ready to house asylum seekers inside. You can see also very clearly the
12:30
Signs, keep out, MOD property. This belongs to the Ministry of Defence
12:34
It's currently disused. It's an old storage facility. But this is the site that has caused so much consternation
12:42
and controversy in the town here, but also as part of this nationwide debate
12:47
as to what this nation should do when it comes to illegal immigration
12:51
I'll let you know I'm video recording this. So they're video recording us
12:56
We're video recording you. OK, who are you representing, sir? We're with LBC
13:00
Okay. LBC is clearly asking questions of us here. Alright, what can we do for you
13:08
You don't have to do anything. We're just here having a look at the site that locals are concerned about, that's all
13:15
Okay. No problem. Okay, thank you very much. No trouble in the end
13:21
But it shows that we clearly haven't been the first ones to try to figure out what's going on here
13:30
I guess this is the moment it becomes quote-unquote official. They're putting up the sign Principality of Pittington
13:41
It's real now for the residents here. And this is the field where many residents tell us they come to play with their kids or walk their dogs
13:50
And just to give you a bit of a geography lesson, you look over the other side of those trees
13:55
and that's where the former military site is that would house these asylum seekers
14:02
And that's the fear, that's the crux of the concern that we've heard from so many locals
14:07
the proximity of this field next to that site. You know, for people that haven't been to this village
14:14
what is it that is concerning about what could happen? Well, you know, essentially it's male-only asylum seekers
14:23
and probably 1,500 of them, although if you read some documents, it's 3,500
14:30
And we've got 130 women. We have two streetlights, which the government are now going to turn off at midnight every night
14:41
But people are free to walk around with their kids, with their dogs and so on
14:45
It's safe, you know, and you feel safe. And quite rightly, and not helped by the fact the government has to issue a nine-page document to all the asylum seekers saying these are offences to women
15:01
I mean, it's just ridiculous. So they know what the problem is. Well, after the hustle and bustle of this morning, this village is returning to its usual quiet self
15:14
but there is still this undercurrent of tension, unease and anxiety. And this is a really local issue
15:22
There's nothing more local than an asylum site next door affecting a community like this
15:28
But this is also the epicentre of a national debate. And people here that I've spoken to say this isn't the end
15:35
This is just the start. This is just the beginning of a movement that's going to take hold up and down the country
15:43
Andy Burnham and the Labour government have argued that this policy of housing asylum seekers in military facilities is far better than hosting them in hotels
15:54
And the PM's also said that it can't just be poorer communities that have to take the burden, as he called it
16:01
In other words, leafy towns like this also have to pull their weight
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