On 4 July 2026 (chosen to coincide with US Independence Day), the residents of Piddington voted overwhelmingly (reports of 175–7 or 96%) to hold a referendum on seceding from the UK / declaring independence (sometimes framed as the “Principality of Piddington”).
A formal independence referendum is planned for September 2026.
Piddington is currently protesting Home Office plans to house 1,250 single adult male illegal asylum seekers at a nearby former military site (MoD Bicester / Bicester barracks storage depot), which would more than triple or quadruple the village’s population of roughly 350–370 people (around 250–350 adults plus children.
Burnham claims that this part of the "fair" distribution of illegals to wealthier areas (even though it will cost the taxpayer more).
It should be noted, with a degree of irony, that the local council is a Green/LibDem coalition, and the MP is a LibDem. Both these parties support mass migration to the UK.





