Polls close in Piddington as village holds independence vote in protest over migrants housed at nearby MoD base

Polls have closed in Piddington tonight after residents in the Oxfordshire village voted in a second symbolic independence referendum.

Locals held the referendum as part of a series of protests against plans to house 1,256 migrants at a nearby Ministry of Defence base.

Piddington, which is home to just 350 residents, held its first vote on July 4.

A staggering 96 per cent backed independence, with just seven local residents voting to remain a member of the United Kingdom.

Speaking to GB News ahead of polls closing in the second symbolic referendum, Piddington parish council leader Tim McNally said: “The worry here is the Government is playing Russian roulette with our security.

"No one's listening to us. Why are we talking to brick walls? Why is the political establishment broken and it is broken?

"We elect MPs through democracy. They get into Westminster and then they lose their brain and they lose their tongue. Why?”

He added: “It's not about Piddington leaving the UK. We know we don't have a legal stance to do such a thing, but what it does do is it gives confidence to other communities who feel the same as us, who are going to step up and follow our process."

There is no legal mechanism allowing a village, town or city to declare independence from the UK.

However, hundreds of other villages have now reached out to Piddington for guidance on how to emulate their fiery fightback.

The poll in Piddington is somewhat similar to Corby's referendum on Scottish independence.

The Northamptonshire town, known as "Little Scotland" due to its links to Glaswegian steel workers, voted by a margin of 72 per cent to 28 per cent against leaving the UK.

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The poll in Piddington has also garnered interest from politicians in Westminster.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Shadow Equalities Minister Joy Morrisey joined 20 women at the village green earlier this week.

Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Suella Braverman also respond to an open letter penned by a group of Piddington's female residents.

In the letter, the group of 133 women said they faced a "crisis" and argued their "safety, security and freedoms will be under threat".

"Life as we know it will be destroyed," the women wrote in the letter.

"We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear."

The women have since begun taking self-defence classes, with 26 places on the first course now being filled.

Whitehall bosses have also promised to hand out high-visibility jackets to 1,250 male asylum seekers.

Despite voters in Piddington being expected to vote decisively in favour of leaving the UK, the Home Office attempted to allay concerns earlier this month by opening a public consultation, which runs until midnight on September 17.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1billion on asylum support since the election.

"We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.

"As part of the process, we engage with local authorities and police forces to ensure the safety and security of those in the surrounding area."