Reform UK MPs Suella Braverman and Sarah Pochin have visited Piddington to stand with residents fighting Labour’s plan to house more than 1,200 male asylum seekers beside their small Oxfordshire village.
“We, as Reform UK politicians and as female politicians, will stand up and do everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen”, Pochin said.
The government wants to turn part of the former Bicester military garrison into open asylum accommodation for around 1,256 single adult men. The centre, proposed for an initial period of 10 years, would dwarf Piddington’s population of around 350.
However, recently published government documents revealed that officials had initially considered housing as many as 3,510 people at the site - 10 times the population of Piddington.
Residents have raised serious concerns about community safety, policing and pressure on local infrastructure. The village playing field directly borders the proposed site, while those being housed there would be free to come and go.
Last week, 133 local women wrote to every female MP in Parliament pleading for support. Just four responded - including Braverman and Pochin. Not a single female Labour MP replied.
Responding to their appeal, the two Reform MPs travelled to Piddington to meet local mothers and hear their concerns first-hand.
“The people of Piddington are terrified”, Braverman said. “They’re angry. No one is listening to their voices.”
“That’s why Sarah and I, on behalf of Reform UK, stand with the people of Piddington - the women of Piddington and the children of Piddington.”
Pochin said mothers were deeply worried about their own safety and that of their children. Some local women have even begun taking self-defence classes, while residents say police have advised them to “take precautions”.
Pochin also condemned Labour’s wider handling of the small-boats crisis, warning that the vessels used by people-smuggling gangs were becoming larger and increasingly sophisticated.
She said illegal arrivals should be detained - including offshore if necessary - rather than placed in open accommodation in small communities.
“For Labour, open borders are a project”, she said. “They’re a problem for everybody else - and a particularly large problem looming here for the residents of Piddington.”
“We, as Reform UK politicians and as female politicians, will stand up and do everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen”, Pochin said.
The government wants to turn part of the former Bicester military garrison into open asylum accommodation for around 1,256 single adult men. The centre, proposed for an initial period of 10 years, would dwarf Piddington’s population of around 350.
However, recently published government documents revealed that officials had initially considered housing as many as 3,510 people at the site - 10 times the population of Piddington.
Residents have raised serious concerns about community safety, policing and pressure on local infrastructure. The village playing field directly borders the proposed site, while those being housed there would be free to come and go.
Last week, 133 local women wrote to every female MP in Parliament pleading for support. Just four responded - including Braverman and Pochin. Not a single female Labour MP replied.
Responding to their appeal, the two Reform MPs travelled to Piddington to meet local mothers and hear their concerns first-hand.
“The people of Piddington are terrified”, Braverman said. “They’re angry. No one is listening to their voices.”
“That’s why Sarah and I, on behalf of Reform UK, stand with the people of Piddington - the women of Piddington and the children of Piddington.”
Pochin said mothers were deeply worried about their own safety and that of their children. Some local women have even begun taking self-defence classes, while residents say police have advised them to “take precautions”.
Pochin also condemned Labour’s wider handling of the small-boats crisis, warning that the vessels used by people-smuggling gangs were becoming larger and increasingly sophisticated.
She said illegal arrivals should be detained - including offshore if necessary - rather than placed in open accommodation in small communities.
“For Labour, open borders are a project”, she said. “They’re a problem for everybody else - and a particularly large problem looming here for the residents of Piddington.”
