When nationalist leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland banded together earlier this week – demanding the independence of their various nations – Andy Burnham probably did not appreciate he would face a separatist vote just days later.
This vote, however, centres around somewhere entirely different altogether – the leafy Oxfordshire village of Piddington, in the heart of rural England.
A total of 285 people in the village of just 350 have voted for independence from the UK because they are outraged by a decision to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.
A mere 26 residents voted against the motion, with one spoiled ballot recorded – showing there was little appetite to support the government’s position.
The vote may be symbolic in nature but it shows a deep divide emerging in the UK over the migrant crisis.
And the turnout of around 92 per cent underlines that feelings are running high in the most middle England of English abodes.
For those who enjoy black and white films, the whole scenario has a familiar narrative to it from the days of Ealing Studio comedies.
The 1949 Passport to Pimlico was based on angry residents in Pimlico in south London discovering they were not part of the UK, but the House of Burgundy allowing them to declare independence to avoid the post-war rationing rules.
If we are looking for a real example Parliament was genuinely shaken in 1977 when Hay-on-Wye declared independence, issued its own passports and had a decision making machine in the pub with the eccentric second hand bookseller Richard Booth declaring himself king. Booth’s Alsatian dog was declared prime minister.
While the vote in Piddington was symbolic – and will not require the careful negotiation depicted in the Ealing Studios film or the lengthy emergency parliamentary debates over Haye-on-Wye – this is still not fiction, comedy or a stunt. There is genuine anger which is being repeated up and down the country.
Not long ago there were protests in Epping in Essex over a migrant hotel. In the last fortnight, we have seen masked men protesting in Dover and Portsmouth, as well. All over the same issue.
While Reform’s vote has dropped in the recent weeks, the fact it is still polling at around 25 per cent – with its rival Restore Britain on another 5 per cent – just emphasises the appetite to support parties which will take a far harder line on the migrant crisis.
But there are big issues at stake now. If Reform UK or the Tories emerge victorious at the next election, we would see the UK leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and possibly the Refugee Convention.
It would rewrite the UK’s international and human rights status in a way which could be even worse than Brexit.
Even more worrying is the way that this issue is now fueling the real far-right, led by figures like Tommy Robinson.
So while Piddington can be too easily dismissed as an Ealing comedy-style slightly humorous protest, there is a very good chance things could turn much nastier there.
Labour needs to understand that the public perception that it is failing to tackle the migrant crisis could at least metaphorically break up the country. And if they don’t find a way to address it, the prime minister risks handing power to other parties who could change the UK forever.
