Village votes to leave UK over asylum housing plan in symbolic referendum

Watch: Piddington referendum result is announced Residents of an Oxfordshire village have voted to become independent from the UK in a symbolic referendum held in protest at plans to house more than 1,000 migrants at a former military base. "We inherited an enormous asylum backlog, we are processing claims much more quickly, we are removing people who don't have the right to be here. There were 89,089 people in asylum accommodation as of June 2026. Most people who arrive in the UK by small boat claim asylum, but they were only 40% of all asylum seekers from July 2025 to June 2026. The rest include people who arrived by other illegal means or who came to the UK legally and applied for asylum while holding, or just after holding, a valid visa. It can take years for the government to decide whether someone should be granted asylum. As of June 2026, a further 90,341 refused asylum applications were part of a second backlog, waiting the outcome of an appeal in the courts. Together, these initial decision and appeal cases form the government’s total asylum applications backlog, which it has pledged to clear . Refugee status was granted in about 38% of asylum decisions made by the Home Office from July 2025 to June 2026. Tim Beader, Oxfordshire County Council leader, said the campaigners had done an incredible job at highlighting their concerns about the proposed asylum centre.