Andy Burnham responds to Piddington referendum after villagers vote to leave UK over plan to house 1,250 migrants at MoD Bicester

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The tiny Oxfordshire village is expected to house 1,256 asylum seekers at MoD Bicester

Andy Burnham has responded to the result of a second independence referendum in Piddington after local residents voted to leave the UK over Labour's plan to house 1,250 migrants at MoD Bicester.

The Prime Minister, who admitted he only became aware of the campaign in Piddington last month, today said he understood the village's "strength of feeling" before insisting there needed to be fairness across the country.

Residents in Oxfordshire voted decisively to cut ties with the UK, with 285 out of 312 backing independence.

Speaking after the result was declared, Mr Burnham said: "The only thing to do is to get the numbers down, the number of crossings down. And they are significantly down. They are now at a seven-year low.

"We also made a commitment to people to end the use of hotels to house refugees and asylum seekers, and that commitment needs to be honoured, and I think the vast majority of people say 'yeah, that really does need to proceed'.

"So this involves difficult decisions. It's about fairness across the country. I'm not saying that only one part of the country or one group of communities should do all of the work."

Only 26 residents in Piddington voted against independence, with one local even spoiling their ballot.