LONDON - Britain's opposition Labour Party should allow Scotland to hold another independence referendum if the Scottish parliament votes for one, the second most powerful man in the party said.

Labour's John McDonnell told an event at the Edinburgh festival fringe that his party should not try to block a second vote on independence, the Guardian reported.

"We would not block something like that. We would let the Scottish people decide. That's democracy," McDonnell was quoted as saying.

Scottish voters would back independence and they want another referendum in the next two years, a poll published on Monday showed, indicating that the United Kingdom could be wrenched apart shortly after it leaves the European Union. 

Reuters