A second English village is considering holding a symbolic referendum on leaving the UK in protest over plans to host asylum seekers at a nearby military base.
Barnham in Suffolk could follow in the footsteps of Piddington, Oxfordshire, where opposition to the government’s plans to house migrants at Ministry of Defence (MoD) Bicester saw 90 per cent of locals vote to leave the UK in an unofficial referendum held last week.
The chair of Barnham parish council, John Bauer, told The Independent that his village, which has a population of around 600, is considering holding the referendum.
Cllr Bauer previously told The Times that he and a group from Barnham will visit Piddington to speak about holding the vote – in response to plans for migrants to be housed at the former RAF base MoD Barnham.
He added that nobody he had spoken to in the village supported the government’s plans.
He said: “To send a message to the government, I wouldn’t be surprised if 90 per cent voted [for independence from the UK].
“Barnham is a small – I would say quintessential – Suffolk village, with a village school, a village hall and it’s got a church. That is it. There are no shops, there is no pub, there is nothing else for them to do here.”
According to the MoD, asylum seekers would normally only be accommodated at the site during the initial processing stage of their claims.
No final decision has been taken on the future use of either MoD Bicester or MoD Barnham.
Dozens of people last month gathered outside the former RAF base in Suffolk to protest the plans for it to be used in such a way.
Union and St George’s flags were flown at the base, and some demonstrators held placards which read: “Barnham says no. Protect our community.”
It came after tensions flared in nearby Thetford, Norfolk, earlier in August when people attempted to storm homes linked to asylum seekers and police officers were assaulted in three nights of unrest.
Police in Norfolk said officers were “subjected to significant aggression” in the market town; one was hit with a rock, one was bitten and another spat at.
In Piddington, residents cast their ballots in the symbolic and unofficial referendum last Tuesday.
Some 285 villagers backed “independence”, with a turnout of nearly 92 per cent. Only 26 residents voted against the motion, with one spoiled ballot recorded.
Last month, Home Office minister Anna Turley defended the government’s proposals to house asylum seekers in former military bases in the British countryside.
Ms Turley said the sites would be “self-contained” and were more manageable and affordable than housing those who have arrived in the UK illegally in hotels.
She told LBC radio it is a matter of “fairness” for asylum seekers to be housed in such areas. She said poorer areas with lower property prices had already taken their “fair share” of migrants.
Ms Turley said: “They’re not going to be in the village, they’re going to be contained in a former military base, they will be allowed out, everything they need will be on that site.
“We are looking at former military bases around the country, we’re also looking at former industrial sites, student accommodation, other means by which we can put people in secure places that is contained and is manageable – going back to the beginning of our conversation – is more affordable than putting people in hotels.”
A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: “We recognise the strength of local feeling in Barnham and Piddington and are listening carefully to the concerns being raised.
“This government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with £1 billion saved in costs since the election. This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites.”
