Suffolk village Barnham votes to hold 'Piddington-style referendum' on leaving the UK over plans for 930 migrants at RAF base
Barnham's parish council chairman John Bauer called the government's approach 'high-handed' after plans to house around 930 migrants at the base were cut from 1,250 on Friday.Protesters march through Thetford toward RAF Barnham in August, as villagers voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to pursue a referendum on leaving the UK over the migrant housing plan.
Residents attending Saturday's meeting at Barnham village hall voted overwhelmingly to hold the referendum, with just seven of the 80 present opposed. The Home Office had reduced the proposed migrant number from 1,250 to 930 the day before, but that cut was not enough to stop the vote. Parish council chairman John Bauer condemned the government's 'high-handed approach' and its failure to consult local people. A working group meets on Monday to set a timetable for the ballot.
In September, Piddington villagers voted 285 to 26 to secede over the MoD Bicester plans.
Home Office information indicated that most of those housed at the base would be young single men who had entered the country illegally.
RAF Barnham, which once held Britain's Cold War nuclear weapons, shut in 1963.
