FRED KELLY: The 'Principality of Piddington' is far more than a PR stunt. Make no mistake, Middle England is on the march - and soon its furious cries will become too loud to ignore

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 06:25 EDT, 16 September 2026 | Updated: 06:55 EDT, 16 September 2026 Middle England is on the march, and the residents of Piddington are its bannermen. In voting to secede from the United Kingdom, the Oxfordshire village has fired the starting gun on a national movement to fight back against the thoughtless imposition of asylum seekers in communities across Britain.Yes, the vote was symbolic but its message is very real, as I have found out, having spent the past week here.At 7.05 this morning the result was declared, with 92 per cent of residents voting for independence. As a sign proudly reads outside the village hall, this is now the ‘Principality of Piddington’.But the referendum was more than a PR stunt. Rather, it was the culmination of a three-month campaign that has seen ordinary people – mothers and fathers, professionals, pensioners and parish councillors – come together to say that enough is enough.They will not tolerate Home Office plans to house 1,256 asylum seekers in a Ministry of Defence site just half a mile outside the village, whose population is only 350.Local people are scared of such an influx of bored, jobless, young men, many of whom will hail from countries that have a medieval attitude towards the opposite sex. Locals pose with a 'Principality of Piddington' sign after the village voted to secede from the United Kingdom At 7.05am the result was declared, with 91 per cent of residents voting for independenceInevitably, local women fear for their safety and for that of their daughters. And so well they might. For while, of course, most asylum seekers will not break Britain's laws, we have seen many reports of sexual assaults and intimidating behaviour in towns and villages close to major asylum accommodation sites.I saw it with my own eyes in Braintree, Essex, this summer where young male migrants housed at the nearby Wethersfield site loiter at the bus terminal, gawp at young girls and stand accused of stealing from charity shops.And as the people of Piddington know all too well, Labour isn’t listening. Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged greater devolution. He wants to hand further powers to regional mayors, including control over national utilities like water, as announced today.But when it comes to people having a say in how illegal immigrants are housed in their communities, Burnham has his fingers stuck in his ears.The Conservatives, Reform UK and Restore Britain have all descended on Piddington but Labour has been conspicuous by its absence.This morning, chairman of the parish council Tim McNally explained he had received ‘a thousand emails’ asking for help in replicating the Piddington ‘blueprint’ up and down the country.‘Piddington is the seed,’ he told reporters today. ‘We are the soil, and we are fertiliser.’Make no mistake, this movement will grow. Immigration is not an issue that only motivates black-shirted, balaclava-clad agitators – the likes of whom took to the streets of Dover and Portsmouth recently. It stirs fear and loathing among gentle, peaceable communities, too.They have found their voice in Piddington, and as protests spread, the cries of discontent will become too loud for the Government to ignore.