UK approves controversial migrant center near ‘breakaway’ village | 13 Nov 2026 | The UK government has approved controversial plans to house up to 1,256 male migrants near a tiny Oxfordshire village of around 350 residents, Sky News reported on Thursday. To protest the plans, Piddington symbolically seceded from the UK in September. Residents of the village, which had a population of just 358 in 2021, have fiercely opposed the proposed asylum center at a nearby former military site, raising concerns about its impact on their small community. Despite 285 residents voting in favor of secession in the symbolic referendum, the government has refused to cancel the plans. British Housing Secretary Angela Rayner personally approved the project on Thursday, according to Sky News.