In a symbolic referendum, villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire, voted 285 to 26 to “secede from the UK and pursue self-determination”. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

The ballot involved 358 villagers and was held in protest at plans to convert a former military base near the village into housing for 1 250 asylum seekers. One of the first significant decisions of the newly independent principality of Piddington was to select the newt as the national animal, reflecting optimism that the amphibian’s endangered status might help block plans to open a centre for 1 250 asylum seekers on neighbouring land.

The choice was announced on Thursday morning, the day after Piddington announced that villagers had voted overwhelmingly to leave the UK. Parish councillors were also thinking about asking local children to design a flag and considering whether the new principality’s national sport should be cricket or football.

The second noteworthy event was the arrival of Daniel Thomas, who prefers to be called Danny Tommo, the leader of the new balaclava-wearing anti-migrant movement Patriot Platform, with an offer to rally his masked supporters, if the site is opened, “to protect women and children” locally.

By the end of the week, some residents of this pretty Oxfordshire village were still struggling to interpret Tuesday’s symbolic ballot of 358 villagers, and the announcement on Wednesday that Piddington had voted to “secede from the UK and pursue self-determination” by a margin of 285 to 26, in protest at plans to convert a former military base near the village into housing for asylum seekers.

For many, the vote was a demonstration of plucky British eccentricity in the face of adversity, with Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico vibes. The day after the independence vote there was still a summer fete atmosphere: Battle for Britain bunting was hanging over the doorway to the village hall, “I Am Spartacus” placards stood by the roadside alongside new signs telling drivers that they were entering the Principality of Piddington, “The Village That Roars”. Journalists from Japan, Norway and Ireland arrived, puzzled by the lack of public transport and functional wifi; they scrutinised the community noticeboard in search of clues to explain the village mindset (“Tortoise Found”, “Harvest Coffee Morning”, “Pilates for All Abilities”).

For others, the week’s events have more troubling outcomes. Chef Rachel Marsh, who used to run a livery yard in the village where she has lived for 20 years, was meeting police officers on Friday to discuss her safety. She received death threats and her family was targeted with racist abuse online after she expressed unease in a Newsnight interview that fear was being used as means to “rally and activate people” locally.

The determined jollity of the village independence movement left a sour taste, she said, in the light of the backlash she had received both from local residents and online activists.

“Given that their aim is to protect women and children it is quite ironic that they are using aggression like this towards me for speaking up against racism,” she said. Originally from New Zealand, Marsh has lived in the UK for 40 years; her husband’s parents were Windrush generation arrivals from Jamaica. Messages posted online this week suggested that she and her husband should leave Britain. “We’ve had violent threats online from a lot of very toxic keyboard warriors. I’ve never encountered anything like this before.”

Marsh, like everyone else in Piddington, opposes the government’s asylum housing plan, announced in June. Residents were particularly dismayed at the government’s decision to submit a fast-tracked ‘Urgent Crown Development’ application, designed for projects deemed to be of national importance, allowing ministers to bypass local authority planning processes, as they race to meet a commitment to shut down asylum hotels entirely “in this parliament”.

But village harmony has fractured in places, over disagreements over how best to oppose the decision. Some locals back a Wrong Plan, Wrong Site campaign, primarily focused on the legalities, cost and environmental risks of the proposed housing. Other activists have highlighted the perceived risk to local women of the site. One local, asking not to be named, said the rhetoric in the village had become markedly “more hostile to asylum seekers” over the summer. “The tenor has changed,” he said.

The leader of the parish council, Tim McNally, who led the independence movement, said he was happy that the village had “sent a message to the political jugular”, adding that he was now talking to other village leaders elsewhere in Britain, sharing a blueprint with advice on how to object to unpopular decisions imposed by central government.

In interviews earlier this week he said he would consider renaming the village Trumpington if Donald Trump agreed to adopt the principality as the 51st US state. Since June he has been filming video appeals for support.