The statement follows the historic third successive Scottish election victory for the party that delivered 63 of Scotland’s 129 MSP seats to the nine year incumbents.
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Ms Davidson’s party won 31 seats, more than doubling its representation, marking the success of her keynote message to oppose a second referendum in Scotland during the next five years and provide a strong opposition to the SNP.
NICOLA Sturgeon has led the SNP to a record third term in power at Holyrood as a surge in support for the Scottish Conservatives saw them overtake Labour to become the main party of opposition.
Labour Party politician Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver from Pakistan, led London’s mayoral race Friday, opening a lead over Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith that left him poised to be the city’s first Muslim mayor.
But Ms Dugdale insisted she will remain as the leader of her party “no matter what”.
Asked how that makes her feel, she added: “Heartbroken, without question”.
“Their argument that Labour should be doing better, though, especially considering Conservative divisions over Europe in recent weeks, will continue to resonate”, he said.
The Labour vote share plunged by 17 points in East Kilbride and Clydebank and Milngavie and the Tories beat them into third place in Clydesdale.
The Conservative campaign had focused on providing a strong opposition to the SNP and Ms Davidson accepted “many people that have given us their vote for the very first time, not because they’re true blue Conservatives, but because there’s a job of work they want us to do”.
She said: ” I made clear in this election that education will be the defining and driving priority of my tenure as First Minister – and that I expect to be judged on it. I reiterate that today.
Nicola Sturgeon said she will continue “to persuade, not to divide” on independence and urged other parties to “respect the opinion of the people”.
Andrew Blick, a constitutional expert at Kings College London, said the results merely underscore how hard the referendum campaign will be – as attitudes nationally seem to be so complex.
While Labour’s losses in Scotland were humiliating, the party fared less badly overall than many had predicted.
Early indications that it could be a bad night for Ms Dugdale’s Labour were apparent from the second seat to be declared.
Scottish Labour has been ousted from every constituency in Glasgow in a repeat of its general election misery in the city.
The party lost the Rutherglen constituency which it had held since 1999 to the SNP and seats which had previously been considered part of Labour’s heartlands also fell to the nationalists, including Motherwell and Wishaw, and Greenock and Inverclyde.
Sturgeon will now have to reach out to other parties in order to pass legislation at Holyrood just as sweeping new powers are set to be devolved to the parliament.
Leader Ruth Davidson and Deputy Leader Jackson Carlaw picked up constituency seats in Edinburgh Central, where the party came from fourth, and Eastwood, and the party performed very well on the regional lists, picking up two in Glasgow, three in the Highlands and Islands and four MSPs in Mid Scotland and Fife.
The Lib Dems went into the night at risk of becoming the fifth force in Scottish politics, behind the Greens.
Veteran Labour MSP Jackie Baillie held on to the Dumbarton constituency she has represented since 1999, but with a majority of just 109 over the SNP.
Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said: “There are real opportunities in the next session for the Greens to push the government beyond its comfort zone”.
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The Tories also gained Aberdeenshire West from the SNP and Dumfriesshire from Labour.
