Labour Party Believes Wrong to Hold Second Referendum on Scottish Independence

It is wrong to hold another referendum on Scotland's independence, and the UK Labour Party will oppose it as the independence is not in the interests of any part of the country, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Monday, reacting to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's announcement of the second vote plan.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Sturgeon said she would seek next week the authority to hold another independence referendum, which should take place between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 to accommodate for Brexit negotiations.

"The 2014 Scottish Independence referendum was billed as a once in a generation event. The result was decisive and there is no appetite for another referendum. Labour believes it would be wrong to hold another so soon and Scottish Labour will oppose it in the Scottish parliament," Corbyn wrote on Facebook.

"If, however, the Scottish parliament votes for one, Labour will not block that democratic decision at Westminster. If there is another referendum, Labour will oppose independence because it is not in the interests of any part of the country to break up the UK," he added.

On March 9, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the second half of 2018 would be a "common sense" time for holding a second Scottish independence referendum, as a UK-EU deal would be more clear by then.

The UK government views a second Scottish independence referendum as inevitable but will fight to delay the vote, local media reported on March 10.