Others said the campaign had a darker side and stirred up fear of newcomers. Some backers of the Piddington referendum compared their fight against the asylum accommodation to the 1940 Battle of Britain against Nazi Germany.

Villager Herbert Owen, 76, said after voting on Tuesday that the independence referendum “isn’t just about Piddington,” adding: “It means everything our grandparents, our parents fought for. Today is the Battle of Britain.”

Comparing unauthorized immigration to an invasion has become increasingly common among politicians including Nigel Farage of Reform UK, and far-right groups that have been active in organizing and attending anti-immigrant protests.

What a bunch of assholes. From earlier in the article:

Residents of Piddington, which has a population of about 350…

That makes sense. Small town people need to have no say over issues pertaining to classes of people who are “different” from themselves. They’re too insulated and lack exposure to those who aren’t like them to properly recognize that they’re human beings in all the ways that they’d recognize if they knew someone from said class.

Brief story: decades ago, while I was on excellent drugs at a rave, my homophobia (thanks, Mom!) instantly disappeared when I realized the hilarious gay guy, in a group of us smoking cigarettes, was no different from me. “He just wants to take his drugs and have a good time on Saturday night,” I realized. He was no different from me!

Small town people need drugs and a good time with people unlike themselves.

  • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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    Villager Herbert Owen, 76, said after voting on Tuesday that the independence referendum “isn’t just about Piddington,” adding: “It means everything our grandparents, our parents fought for. Today is the Battle of Britain.”

    Herbert, Britain took hundreds of thousands of refugees when Nazi Germany invaded all of Europe. Many of those refugees fought for the Allies during the Battle of Britain when UK was left standing alone. You shame your grandparents and parents who fought during the war and tarnishing the name of the battle that fought for everything that is right.

    No wonder the Scots and Welsh are right to push for independence. I would not want to be associated with England-- an old man yelling at clouds.

  • HM King Charles III DG FD@feddit.uk
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    was no different from me. “He just wants to take his drugs and have a good time on Saturday night”’ realized. He was no different from me!

    How can you be sure that these illegal immigrants are no different than you? For example, are you sure they have the same respect for women as you? I met a Pakistani fella once (wasn’t an illegal immigrant, but was an international student). He was boasting about how he had two marriages lined up. I think from there it was quite well established that different cultures have different levels of acceptability for behaviour.

  • AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip
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    I am in agreeance with the comments basically telling those people that they would need to basically build up their “country” but definitely under a time constraint before being kicked out of the country.

    Hell, I was thinking similar things like that for certain parts of my country. Could easily apply to both. Simple things like them having to draft their own laws, create their own currency and then when that is created hand over basically all the foreign money back, government from the part of the country that didn’t secede still keeps control over the military bases and other government things of importance still in the new country. Things like other have said about disconnecting from nationwide utilities and having to have their own passports.

    I bet in both situations they wouldn’t even last more than a few years before collapsing inder their own ineptitude.

    • quack@lemmy.zip
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      Years? They’d be reliant on foreign aid from the UK within weeks.

  • Lumisal@lemmy.world
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    So wait are they actually independent then?..

    Because if so, that technically means it’s perfectly fine for anyone to declare war on them and just take over the area. I mean, they’re calling it a battle, so why not give them a taste of what they want then? Considering it’s about 300 people, most elderly, it’s probably not hard for the internet to gather a 100 who have just some basic combat training. Then they can be given the choice to surrender, and once they do, their land can be sold been to Britain or turned into an anarchist commune, with them being kicked out. /s

    Unfortunately, even with such a direct drastic action, the irony would be entirely lost on them.

  • Gates9@sh.itjust.works
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    The migrants are coming regardless, the only choice you have is whether to be humane or cruel.

    • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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      no, the choice you have is to turn them away or admit them.

      and i severely doubt you’d wnat them moving into your home. but as long as someone else has to deal with the problem what do you care really? you can sit back and judge them and feel superior about what you hypothetically think you would do.

        • HM King Charles III DG FD@feddit.uk
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          It’s particularly illegal immigrants. Essentially once someone disregards the immigration system, then their likelihood of disregarding other laws is dramatically increased.

          Legal immigrants also hate this happening as well, as they work hard to get a visa and then their reputation gets annihilated by freeloaders and possibly criminals or nuisances escaping repercussions abroad.

    • Tiral@lemmy.world
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      You’re not being “cruel” by not allowing what you didn’t agree to in the first place. The government is cruel by not getting approval from people who actually live there. The government is cruel by telling the migrants they have a place to go, when they don’t. The government drops them off and goes “cool, good luck” into a community who doesn’t want them, then they act shocked when the migrants are treated like shit.

      • blartcap_@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        Funny how the people that are treating the migrants like shit are somehow not the cruel ones even though they’re the cause of the main instigators of friction in every step there.

        • HM King Charles III DG FD@feddit.uk
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          Paying human traffickers to try and bypass the visa system and lying about fleeing some war in france, also lying about your age, in order to claim benefits for people actually in need, tends to instigate friction.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    Just let them get their independence. Build a razorwire fence around the village, invalidate their passports, and cut off water, power, and phones. And just in case they have boats, place a coast guard boat in front of their harbour (or whatever they have).

  • BuyEU@lemmy.ml
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    I say, give them independence. Cut them off from the grid, water, sewage. Add border checks requiring visas if they want to enter the rest of the country. Treat them how you would treat any other country, with the influence of 300 people. See how long they last.

    As a nice gesture, let them have another referendum to see if they want to rejoin.

    • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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      Yeah, it’s really a vote for free-riding. So bill them for everything they consume, and mark it up a bit extra because they’re being cunts.

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      Serious question, if the boys that fought fascism knew the future is where their grandchildren wouldn’t be able to afford a house, would stop having children on masse, and wouldn’t be able to get hired. Do you think they’d still have fought? It made their sacrifice worth it?

      At least they have some foreign food. On the downside, there’s huge grooming gangs that the police doesn’t dare do anything about because they might be accused of racism.

      • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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        The reason houses are not affordable has nothing to do with fighting fascism, so it’s an absurd question.

        there’s huge grooming gangs that the police doesn’t dare do anything about because they might be accused of racism

        That’s a lame excuse the police use to cover up for their gross incompetence. And the similar police inaction on predominantly white grroming gangs can’t be credibly attributed to fears of accusations of racism.

      • Naich@piefed.world
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        They would be horrified that there are bell ends like you cropping up again in their own country. Seriously.

        • deWafelMan@lemmus.org
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          Let’s hear from a primary source: https://youtu.be/c2LTcqnFXY0?is=lgF6x1X8xFdWLC_Z

          I’m not British, I’m Belgian. And when i remember my grandfather, he’d be horrified by the current society.

          Frankly the only ant-immigrant parties left are the far fight fascists, and I understand you associate me with them. But that’s not at all representative of. I want the political landscape to be like Denmark.

          Respect for people, freedom, laws, the press…, still hard on illegal immigration. I really hate that the only people standing against unlimited immigration are the pro-Russian mega corrupt far-right.

          • quack@lemmy.zip
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            I’m not British, I’m Belgian

            Of course you’re not, hardly any of the terminally online fuckwits obsessed with our politics are.

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            I want the political landscape to be like Denmark

            Speaking as someone who lives in Denmark and have for my entire life: no you don’t.

            It’s become increasingly full of demagogic nonsense ever since the Fogh campaign introduced spin doctors in 2000.

            I guess that IS what you like, though, based on your jingoistic catchphrases below…

            hard on illegal immigration

            Translation: xenophobic and needlessly cruel

            unlimited immigration

            Translation: not forcing people to suffer and die for being born on the wrong side of arbitrary lines on a map

          • Naich@piefed.world
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            Maybe ask yourself WHY it’s only the far right parties that are anti-immigrant and blaming all society’s ills on immigrants? Have a little think about that, and about what happened in the lead up to WW2. See if you can spot any similarities between those people who’s policies you support and the people your grandfather and my father fought against.

            • HM King Charles III DG FD@feddit.uk
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              Illegal immigration is an issue but it’s nowhere near the cause of society’s ills. Just thought it was worth putting that out there.

              If anything, it’s just a symptom.

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            Respect for people, freedom, laws, the press…,

            Have you seen what’s been happening across the pond?

      • Nautalax@lemmy.world
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        Serious question, if the boys that fought fascism knew the future is where their grandchildren wouldn’t be able to afford a house, would stop having children on masse, and wouldn’t be able to get hired. Do you think they’d still have fought? It made their sacrifice worth it?

        That generation themselves took charge of the new councils that in many cases would then veto further housing development to put upward pressure on the value of the homes they had secured, starting to pull up the ladder after many new homes had been freshly built for them following the destruction of the war. Their direct children who inherited the housing are still profiting quite handsomely with similar incentives, although it’s terrible for the great grandchildren. So the bad part is basically working as they themselves intervened to achieve, and regardless of that now reducing homeownership rates those rates still remain higher than those of when that generation was growing up and the homes are much nicer in quality than the slums of the time which were destroyed.

        People stopped having children en masse because new technology allowed for family planning and for people to do what seemed important to them in life rather than suddenly winding up as parents and being forced to lock in.

        The unemployment rate of 4.9% is much lower than what that war-winning generation had experienced in the interwar period.

        None of this situation seems like it would be helped by becoming the slaves of a self-proclaimed master race who themselves were under the unrestrained despotism of a rabid band of bloodthirsty lunatics.

  • Setiyeti93@lemmy.ca
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    There is there classic film called passport to pimlico.

    The story of how technically speaking pimlico belonged to some foreign prince. At the time because the post war rationing was making life difficult… They all decided to secede the UK. Only to find the actually rationing wasn’t that bad when faced with all of the other issues that came from being isolationist.

    It was relevant then. It was relevant during the brexit referendum. And it is relevant today.

    Although this shouldn’t be confused for the cases Scotland Ireland and Wales make for independence.

    • tzrlk@lemmy.world
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      How funny would it be for them to instead vote to kick England out of the UK? “We’re mostly fine with maintaining our unification under a monarchy, but (and we can’t stress this enough) fuck England’s politicians with an unlubed rake.”

    • wieson@feddit.org
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      Just a heads up: Ireland has independence. Maybe you’re thinking of unification or independence of Northern Ireland.

    • deHaga@feddit.uk
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      Although this shouldn’t be confused for the cases Scotland Ireland and Wales make for independence.

      Why? Devolving power is a good thing.

      • Setiyeti93@lemmy.ca
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        Oh absolutely. That’s what I’m saying. The biggots in this village, and the movie I’m referencing, seem to think that all their problems will disappear if they break away.

        Scotland Wales and Ireland absolutely should have independence should they want it. There’s a big difference. These aren’t tiny groups of people who think all of their woes will evaporate as soon as they declare independence.

        • mobyduck648@lemmy.world
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          groups of people who think all of their woes will evaporate as soon as they declare independence.

          To be fair this does describe the SNP quite well! I’m a strong believer that a democratic institution is only worthy of the name if you can leave, but the Yes campaign’s whitepaper was very sloppy on its economics for example, it did a lot of wishful thinking around oil prices and Westminster paying for pension entitlements. The SNP is also incredibly crooked as it turns out, I’d be properly miffed if I was a Scot that petty corruption was damaging the credibility of the broader independence movement.

          I have a lot more time for Plaid Cymru though, they’re doing the right things on the subject and they’re definitely a lot less shady in my view. Welsh independence is obviously even more challenging economically, but Plaid seem to be pacing themselves sensibly and building trust rather than going full-tilt into an ill-conceived gamble. I can see them delivering independence credibly in the future. Also they’ve done very well to gain enough seats from Labour to overturn their century-long Welsh streak.

    • JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
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      There’s an old Top Gear episode where Jeremy Clarkson makes fun of that name. How it’s like something you’d call someone who’s a bit of a wet blanket. “He’s a bit of a Piddingron.”

  • MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works
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    21 hours ago

    From the latest Popbitch gossip missive: “The uproar over Piddington’s Jubilee Park is a surprise to some locals, given that its sole purpose prior to the erection of the big Hollywood-style Piddington sign - in support of the village’s risible vote to secede from the UK - appeared to be for dogging. Rarely frequented by locals, given its relative distance from the village, things had got bad enough that the hedge at the entrance to the park had to be cut down so that Thames Valley Police could see in from the road.”

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      Not even to take a piddle on piddlington?

      I think this could be a thing. Wouldn’t want the new housing for migrants to smell like piss, after all. Gotta put our best foot forward….

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          For that, I might license my food truck name to some peeps over there.

          (I’m gonna name it “all due respect”. Well sell asparagus, radishes, beer. Anything that can make your piss extra stanky. We’ll be located across from Trump’s grave.)

    • magnue@lemmy.world
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      Nothing racist about opposing 1000+ migrants being suddenly moved into your area which previously had 300-400 people. Doesn’t matter where they’re from - that’s going to completely change the way of life.

      • Naich@piefed.world
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        I remember when people were happily housing Ukrainian migrants after Russia first attacked. The government even paid out grants to help people do it. It does 100% matter where they are from. It seems that it’s a lot more difficult to welcome people into the country if they aren’t the same colour as you.

        • Martti@suppo.fi
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          Or maybe it is easier to integrate ukrainians than deeply rural people escaping from wars caused by Europeans and US.

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            easier to integrate ukrainians than deeply rural people

            You know that the flag of Ukraine depicts a wheat field under a blue sky, right? And that it’s known as “Europe’s bread basket”?

            Doesn’t get much more rural than that 😄

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        Honestly I think it’s deliberate, at that point the problem isn’t who is being moved in it’s that there’s no way the existing infrastructure and services can support the population suddenly quadrupling. Easy way to manufacture a small crisis to drum up anti-immigration fervor.

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          If this is the piddington I think it is, they’re not that far from the outskirts of Bicester (pronounced bister) which has had an almost nonstop expansion since 2013 and is home to one of the most hyped up nothingburger shopping “villages” I’ve ever seen which means constant tourists in the area in a much more disruptive way. Also turns out this migrant housing place is going to be in Bicester itself so I can’t even comprehend the self-importance required to try to secede like this…