BARNHAM RESIDENTS BACK SYMBOLIC UK EXIT VOTE

Residents of Barnham, Suffolk, backed a “symbolic” referendum on leaving the UK at a village meeting on Saturday, amid opposition to Home Office plans for accommodation at the former RAF Barnham base. Only six or seven people voted against holding the referendum at the meeting. Figures for the proposed capacity range from 913 to 931 asylum seekers. The Home Office initially sought to accommodate 1,250 people at the site, then withdrew that application and submitted a new one. Residents have yet to vote in the referendum itself.

Barnham residents and West Suffolk Council have raised planning and environmental objections to the proposal. Those objections include concern for stone curlews, rare birds that nest around the site. Some parish councillors feared a referendum could appear to be a “publicity stunt” and distract from those objections. Parish council chairman John Bauer argued that a referendum could accompany the existing work. Supporters said they wanted to draw attention to their concerns and to what they described as a lack of consultation.

The proposed referendum would have no legal effect. Barnham residents discussed following Piddington, Oxfordshire, where villagers voted to leave the UK in July over plans for asylum accommodation at a nearby former military base. A Barnham delegation visited Piddington last month to discuss the vote with residents and local leaders. Piddington’s vote drew national attention and reached the prime minister. Barnham restricted Saturday’s meeting to village residents.