FRED KELLY: Here in Piddington, villagers are fighting their own Battle for Britain against this failing Government

By the time the polls opened at 7am yesterday, the small black letterbox outside Piddington Village Hall had been converted into a makeshift ballot box. 

Bunting hung from the doorway emblazoned with images of the Union flag, poppies and the RAF roundel. A hanging pennant declared: 'Battle for Britain 2026.'

Yesterday, on September 15 – the day each year when we remember those who fought against the Luftwaffe over the skies of London 86 years ago – the 350 residents of Piddington, Oxfordshire, launched their own Battle For Britain.

This was by way of an unofficial referendum on the village declaring independence from the UK – all in a bid to prevent the Home Office from housing 1,256 asylum seekers at a Ministry of Defence (MoD) site on their doorstep.

Once the polls had closed 12 hours later, the result seemed all but inevitable. Every single one of the voters the Daily Mail spoke to proudly declared they had chosen to leave the UK. And the mood was jubilant.

Shortly after 7pm, more than 50 locals crammed into the village hall for their weekly campaign meeting. 

The drinks flowed as chairman of the parish council Tim McNally declared: 'The politics of our country are broken on so many levels. And we're sending our message back to Westminster.'

 Pictured: Residents attend a meeting at the Piddington village hall on Tuesday evening

Residents applaud after the polls close in the referendum over whether Piddington should 'leave' the UK in protest at plans for an asylum camp

The night's jubilation was interrupted only by the unexpected arrival of Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe at 7.30pm alongside a small clutch of his supporters. 

But the Great Yarmouth MP was twice denied entry to the village hall – this is, after all, a Liberal Democrat constituency – and he left after just 15 minutes.

Earlier in the afternoon, however, as votes were being cast, there were scenes of a far more poignant nature.

Herbert Owen, 76, has lived in the village for 33 years. In that time, he told the Mail, 'very little has changed'. 

Until now. That morning, Mr Owen and his wife Jenny voted for Piddington to declare independence. When asked why, he stiffened the grip on his walking stick and took a sharp intake of breath.

'What did my father fight for?' Mr Owen asked, his eyes pooling with tears. 'He joined the army at 17. 

He was holding back the Germans on the French beaches. He became a prisoner of war and served in Korea, too. 

They say an old soldier never dies but my father would be turning in his grave if he saw what was happening in this country.' 

Mr Owen's voice cracked: 'Our Government has betrayed that generation of men. Andy Burnham and all his MPs are going to be complicit to the crimes these asylum seekers are going to commit.'

About 300 people were eligible to vote in yesterday's symbolic referendum, with the result due this morning. 

While many in this elderly community cast their ballot by post, a steady stream of residents came to the village hall – a small building more used to hosting dances and coffee mornings than political referenda.

Among the voters was 39-year-old Victoria Hubbocks, one of the so-called Ladies of Piddington who last week wrote to every female MP pleading for their support and declaring: 'We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear.' Shockingly, just four MPs replied.

'The asylum site is going to fundamentally change how we live our lives,' the mother of three told the Mail. 'The community will completely change. And we've had no say in the matter. 

'There's been no reassurance from the Government. Housing 1,250 people is a lot. We don't know who they are, where they are from, and of course they'll have their cultural differences.'

Citing reports of sexual violence and intimidatory behaviour near other asylum sites, namely MDP Wethersfield in Essex and the Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex, Ms Hubbocks continued: 'The fact that our local police are 45 minutes away is also a massive concern if something does go wrong. 

'Most people already don't sleep well at night. And we won't be able to give our properties away – though property prices are the least of our worries right now.'

Susannah Parden, another resident who volunteered to serve as the acting returning officer for the vote, added: 'This isn't about politics but we're frightened.

'This isn't even a military barracks. It's a storage warehouse. There's no sewage, no water, no electricity.

'It's wholly unsuitable and the taxpayer will have to pay to convert it into accommodation.' 

Shockingly, details of which facilities might be provided onsite – such as gyms, swimming pools and sports pitches – have been redacted from Home Office documents, meaning it remains unclear how expensive the renovations will be.

However, planning documents do reveal that migrants will have 'access to a range of essential facilities' and will be given hi-vis jackets for protection on the narrow country roads if they leave the site.

No wonder that Reform MP Sarah Pochin described the Government's plans as a 'murky cover-up' when she visited Piddington on Monday alongside former Conservative home secretary turned Reform MP Suella Braverman.

Perhaps most telling of all is that previous plans to turn the Piddington MoD site into asylum accommodation were dropped in 2005 after the project was deemed 'no longer economically viable.'

Back then the site was intended for just 800 people. So what on earth has changed that the Home Office now thinks Piddington can absorb almost double that number? Only a migrant crisis spiralling out of control and the desperation of this Labour Government.