Barnham locals plan Piddington-style referendum after the government moves to house 1,250 asylum seekers in village of 600

From the Newshound archive · first published 25 September 2026 · last updated 26 September 2026.

Residents of Barnham in Suffolk are organising opposition to government plans to convert RAF Barnham into accommodation for more than 1,250 asylum seekers — a figure that dwarfs the village's own population of under 600. Parish council chair John Bauer described the site as 'not suitable' and pointed to 'a number of reasons' the community should be exempt. A Barnham delegation travelled to Piddington in Oxfordshire, where locals staged a referendum on seceding from the UK in protest at comparable plans, to draw lessons from that campaign. Bauer said he was 'impressed with the scale of the publicity' Piddington generated and confirmed that a similar vote is now being considered in Barnham.

John Bauer said locals accept asylum seekers 'need to go somewhere' — but insist RAF Barnham is the wrong site.

Piddington's symbolic vote on leaving the UK drew national attention and is now being seen as a template for English villages facing asylum accommodation plans.

The proposed intake would outnumber Barnham's existing residents by MORE THAN DOUBLE, making it one of the most disproportionate placements in the country.