Given that it is inevitable that the SNP are going to lose a lot of their list seats as a result of winning even more handsomely in the constituency seats, it makes sense for pro-Independence voters to lend their “list” vote to the Scottish Greens in order to prevent as many “list” seats as possible from being soaked up by the anti-Independence parties.
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“I went and sought that support from my party previous year, I won it with 72% of the vote, and the party is full-square behind me to do just that”.
She said: “We did it past year, we have to wait and see the results tonight, but let’s say I’m quietly confident that we might see a repeat performance this evening”.
He added: “She is a leader who will stand up to the SNP and give Scotland strong opposition”.
Her openness about issues such as her sexuality – her partner Jen Wilson has featured in a previous Tory election broadcast – is perhaps one of the reasons why Ms Davidson’s personal popularity is high despite her party remaining for many Scots a “toxic” brand and David Cameron’s continuing unpopularity north of the border.
“But we’ve put the shift in, we’ve done the work, I think the manifesto was bold and ambitious, so we now need to wait until the declarations are made”.
Elsewhere, Jackson Carlaw of the Conservatives won Eastwood from Labour’s Ken Macintosh, who finished third behind the SNP.
In many other seats the Tories have doubled their vote share – largely at the expense of previously dominant Labour.
This is the first Holyrood election in which the Greens fielded candidates in the first-past-the-post constituency section of the ballot.
Early indications that it could be a bad night for Ms Dugdale’s Labour were apparent from the second seat to be declared.
“The collapse in Labour support is quite staggering”.
The former Dunfermline and West Fife MP also blamed Labour’s “unambiguously socialist platform” and suggested Jeremy Corbyn’s leaderships of the United Kingdom party had played badly on the doorsteps.
“Why not appeal to the 55 [per cent who voted No in the independence referendum], to the middle class, who kept Scotland in the Union, and actually then have a message of if you’re frightened of the Tories, of saying if you’re serious about the Union middle class Scotland don’t vote Conservative, vote Labour”.
And Labour enjoyed a rare gain from the SNP in Edinburgh Southern, where Daniel Johnson won the seat for the party.
Anas Sarwar, former Scottish Labour deputy leader, conceded: “Undoubtedly it’s a hard night for the Labour Party”.
Speaking after her victory, Ms Davidson said: “I promise I will serve to the very best of my ability”.
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, said: “Her responsibilities are to the whole of the country, not just the SNP…Her responsibilities mean that she shouldn’t be keeping this wound open”.
With new powers coming it is vitally important that Scotland and Scotland’s business people get the government they deserve, and in this issue I outline a track record that proves an SNP Government can continue to build a successful and dynamic Scotland. “That’s what people want”.
It was also believed that Harvie had come second in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency, where he was standing for the first time, beating Labour into third place.
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As I wrote last week, the Tories have slipped a little over the last couple of months and now face a series of close-fought, seat-by-seat struggles which may determine whether the party can hold on to second place.
