But after the SNP fell two seats short of an outright majority, the chances of a second referendum have faded.
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Basking in her win at a press conference in the capital, she said: “The SNP manifesto does not give Nicola Sturgeon a mandate for a second independence referendum”.
Goldsmith, a wealthy environmentalist, described Khan as “dangerous” and accused his opponent of giving “platforms, oxygen and even cover” to Islamic extremists -a charge repeated by Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior Conservatives.
Labour were at 22 per cent in the constituency vote and 19 per cent on the list, which would return 21 MSPs.
The party also lost three seats in the Welsh Assembly elections, slipping to nine assembly members with 56 of the 60 seats declared.
Today’s election results in Scotland were incredibly positive for both the SNP and the Conservatives.
With Labour on course for its worst ever result, sources suggested it had cost the party up to five points in opinion polls in final days of the battle.
“I think the low turnout generally suggests there is a lack of enthusiasm except for the Ukip vote, which demonstrates that any lack of enthusiasm might be to do with the main parties being in favour of staying in the European Union”, he said.
That and Khan’s victory were bright spots for Labour, which was pushed into third place in Scotland, where it was once dominant.
That would see the SNP seek support from politicians in other parties in order to pass legislation in the parliament.
And on the question of independence, the SNP will make our case with passion, with patience and with respect.
The party has been deeply unpopular in Scotland since the 1980s premiership of Margaret Thatcher but its fortunes have turned around under current leader Ruth Davidson. The results mean that a third of the Labour group in Holyrood are Labour / Co-operative.
“We have to get back to making the arguments as to why Tory ideals – smaller government, cutting taxes instead of stopping austerity – are the wrong ideas and values for our country”, she said.
Mr Corbyn set up an inquiry into anti-Semitism and racism in Labour after former London mayor Ken Livingstone was suspended for claiming Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler supported Zionism. Labour could find itself in a Scottish Tory-style electoral rut, but the other two Unionist parties have a rare opportunity to rebuild.
Britain’s main Opposition Labour party came third in the vote for Scotland’s devolved Parliament.
She insisted she would remain as leader adding: “I am proud that our campaign rose to the challenge of offering an alternative vision of what could be done in our new, more powerful parliament”.
There’s no doubt that our defeat for the Labour Party is painful but it is not the end of our campaign. It will be interesting to see to what extent we see a repeat this time around – and whether the nationalists continue to treat Labour as their primary enemy. “This is an automatic response to last year’s nationalist swing during the Westminster election when the SNP won all but 3 of Scotland’s MP seats in the House of Commons”, Gordon Wilson said.
Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP was expected to achieve another majority in a repeat of 2011, but it hasn’t happened.
I will always fight Scotland’s corner and I will work every single day to make our country fairer, wealthier and stronger.
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“Nowhere is that more evident than Edinburgh Central, where we were coming from fourth position [to win]”.
