Why is a village holding a referendum on leaving the UK?

Residents of a small village set to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers are due to vote in a symbolic referendum on whether it should remain part of the UK.

Piddington, a village of about 400 people near Bicester in Oxfordshire, decided in July to hold the vote after the government announced plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby Ministry of Defence (MoD) site.

Under the proposal, MoD Bicester could be converted into basic accommodation to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers.

The Home Office said it was "working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country" and that it had saved taxpayers over £1bn on asylum support costs since the election.

The vote is taking place on Tuesday – but why is it being held, and will it make any difference?

The Home Office announced the plans in June as part of wider proposals to move people out of hotels.

Known as "Site A", MoD Bicester is located between the villages of Piddington and Upper and Lower Arncott.

In 2005 it was the target of similar plans for an asylum seekers accommodation centre, which were abandoned by the then-Labour government.

This year's announcement sparked widespread criticism, including from the district council and human rights groups, with many residents expressing shock.

Chair of Piddington Parish Council Tim McNally said he was fearful over "security".

Piddington falls within the constituency of Lib Dem MP for Bicester, Calum Miller. He previously said the plans had been "veiled in secrecy" and that the process did not guarantee public participation "beyond a narrow list of statutory bodies".

However, earlier this month the government published an Urgent Crown Development application.

Miller called it a "clear win for local democracy and for every resident who refused to be shut out of a decision with profound consequences for our communities".

A public consultation on the plans is now running until midnight on 17 September.

There is no legal mechanism allowing a village, town or city to declare independence from the UK.

Therefore, a village holding a referendum can only be symbolic, which is what the one held in Piddington will be. It has been organised by Piddington Parish Council, following a vote supporting the idea.

McNally previously said the referendum would be an attempt to make voices in the village heard.

Ahead of the vote, about 20 women gathered at the village green on Monday to meet shadow home secretary Chris Philp, shadow minister for women and equalities Joy Morrissey, and Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Suella Braverman.

Pochin and Braverman were among the MPs to respond to an open letter penned by a group of Piddington's female residents, addressed to all women MPs.

In the letter, the group of 133 women said they faced a "crisis" and argued their "safety, security and freedoms will be under threat".

"Life as we know it will be destroyed," they said.

"We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear."

In a statement regarding the letter, the Home Office previously said the "concerns of communities" were central to its immigration reforms.

"That is why we are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites," a spokesperson said.

Gloria Brown, 69, who has lived in Piddington for 23 years, said she would stop litter-picking in the village if plans went ahead, something she takes "lots of pride" in doing.

"All my friends in the village call me Madame Cholet," Ms Brown said. "I wouldn't be able to do that anymore. I do it on my own sometimes."

She added: "How ever am I going to get my mental health back to scale? Because it's going to make me feel imprisoned in my own village.

"I've felt very emotional about it just lately, and it's just not correct, and it's totally unfair."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1bn on asylum support since the election.

"We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.

"As part of the process, we engage with local authorities and police forces to ensure the safety and security of those in the surrounding area."