Overview
- Piddington held a symbolic independence referendum on Tuesday, September 15, to protest a Home Office planning application to convert MoD Bicester to house up to 1,256 single adult male asylum seekers.
- A group of 133 local women sent an open letter warning their safety and freedoms would be threatened, and residents have started self-defence classes plus plans for CCTV and village alert systems.
- The Home Office says the formal application is for a maximum of 1,256 places, insists no final ministerial decision has been made and has indicated it may use the Urgent Crown Development process to override local planning.
- The campaign drew national political attention with visits from opposition MPs and offers of support from Reform UK and some Conservatives, while Piddington’s parish council says hundreds of other communities have asked for its ‘blueprint’ to replicate the protest.
- The dispute sits inside a wider government shift to end asylum hotels and repurpose former military bases, a move already in use at other sites and one that raises questions about local consultation, capacity figures and long‑term community impact.