A small English village held an extraordinary vote this week: 285 residents voted in favor of symbolic secession from the United Kingdom, with only 26 opposed. While the referendum carries no legal weight, its results have drawn widespread attention across Britain.
The reason for the vote lies less than a kilometer from Piddington, a village of approximately 350 people. The government plans to use a former military base in the area to house up to 1,200 male asylum seekers.
Village council chairman Tim McNally said after the results that "we have sent an absolute message, not just to the region and not just to the country, but to the world." According to him, the village will now be symbolically known as the "Principality of Piddington."
Residents opposing the plan have raised concerns about security, crime, and the potential impact on property values in the affluent area. The government, meanwhile, argues that the facility has been designed to be largely self-contained in order to minimize impact on the local community.
Part of the campaign also drew criticism after supporters compared the fight against housing asylum seekers to Britain's battle against Nazi Germany in World War II.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he understands the strength of feeling in the area and will examine the concerns raised in the referendum, but emphasized that the government needs a fair plan that distributes the burden of absorbing new arrivals across the country.
