Following inflammatory remarks about Piddington’s referendum, we wade in on the truth of the matter
Adult asylum applicants were largely made up of men, with approximately 76% of adult asylum applicants between 2014 and 2024 being male, while 82% of adults entering through refugee family reunion visas were women.
More recently, these numbers have broadly been made up of people from Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh (making up about 46%) due to conflict, persecution and political instability. A separate scheme for Ukrainians, Homes for Ukraine, allows eligible Ukrainians to enter the UK through sponsorship and housing provided by UK hosts.
You’ve likely seen a viral story circulating on social media regarding a plan to house 1,200 migrants in the village of Piddington, near Bicester in Oxfordshire. The story picked up following a symbolic protest by villagers to leave the UK after plans were announced to move asylum seekers to the area. The short end of the truth is — they are not leaving the United Kingdom, and reports about Piddington are largely misleading.
Need to Know
- Up to 1,256 asylum seekers have been proposed to be housed near Piddington, but not in the village itself.
- The proposed location is MOD Bicester Garrison Site A.
- A formal consultation ends on 17 September 2026.
- A symbolic referendum was held in Piddington, led by parish councillor Tim McNally.
- ONS statistics do not prove that asylum seekers or migrants increase crime rates.
Location of Housing
The figure of 1,256 asylum seekers moving to Piddington isn’t entirely correct. Housing will be allocated to MOD Bicester Garrison Site A, around 2.3 miles away from Piddington, close to Arncott, which has a population of around 1,700, and near the market town of Bicester, whose population is approximately 37,000 people.
Concerns were initially raised by a parish councillor named Tim McNally, who, while not affiliated with any political party, uses familiar language which overlaps with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
A formal consultation with residents on the idea has not been finalised and remains open today, as of 17 September, which means no definitive public breakdown is available to analyse. Piddington appears to be the most vocal area opposed to the plan due to its protest referendum, and as of today, the government has not made a final decision on its proposal. The proposed site is also broadly close to HMP Bullingdon, a prison with capacity for around 1,100 inmates.
Crime and Migration
At present, there is little evidence that migration increases crime, and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not record offences by asylum-seeker or migrant status. Furthermore, the Migration Observatory’s most recent review says historical UK research found no meaningful increase in violent crime on average.
Photo credit: RIA Novosti archive, Dmitry Vinogradov, CC-BY-SA 3.0
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