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Village votes to leave UK over asylum housing plan
Confirmed
In Short: In a symbolic referendum, residents of Piddington, Oxfordshire voted overwhelmingly to become independent from the UK in protest of plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby military base.
Villagers in Piddington, near Bicester, UK, voted overwhelmingly in a symbolic referendum to become independent from the UK, in protest of plans to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base, according to reports.
The local parish council organized the referendum, with 285 out of 312 votes cast in favor of leaving, 26 against, and one spoiled ballot.
The Home Office announced the plans in June as part of efforts to move migrants out of hotels, but the proposal has faced local opposition due to concerns about the site's suitability for both local communities and asylum seekers themselves.
While the government aims to process asylum claims more quickly and remove those without the right to stay, some residents argue that the site is inappropriate and could be detrimental to the taxpayer.
What's confirmed
- Villagers in Piddington, near Bicester, UK, voted overwhelmingly in a symbolic referendum to become independent from the UK, in protest of plans to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base, according to reports.
- The local parish council organized the referendum, with 285 out of 312 votes cast in favor of leaving, 26 against, and one spoiled ballot.
- The Home Office announced the plans in June as part of efforts to move migrants out of hotels, but the proposal has faced local opposition due to concerns about the site's suitability for both local communities and asylum seekers themselves.
- While the government aims to process asylum claims more quickly and remove those without the right to stay, some residents argue that the site is inappropriate and could be detrimental to the taxpayer.
What's still developing
- "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," she said.
- The 350 residents were invited to cast their ballot in a small box outside the village hall, the community hub of Piddington.
- Known as "Site A", MoD Bicester is located between the villages of Piddington and Upper and Lower Arncott.
- In 2005 it was the target of similar plans for an asylum seekers accommodation centre, external, which were abandoned by the then-Labour government.
- Lawyers for the League of Women Voters and the Electronic Privacy Information Center on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to leave in place a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that bars the federal government from using a centralized database to verify voters’ citizenship.
- Authorities have urged anyone who consumed liquor in the affected villages during the last 24–48 hours and subsequently developed symptoms to seek immediate medical evaluation.
- Preliminary investigation, according to reports, indicates that an alleged network may have been manufacturing counterfeit liquor in Lalitpur and supplying it at low prices to villages in Sagar and nearby areas.
- A suspected spurious liquor tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district has left several people dead and dozens hospitalised, triggering an extensive medical screening and police investigation in villages under Banda tehsil.