Thursday was a disappointing and difficult day for the Scottish Labour Party. There is no point dressing that up. We made the argument for change in this election, and ultimately it is an argument we lost.
We put forward a serious plan to fix our NHS, make life more affordable, give our young people the chance to succeed and build stronger communities.
We worked to make this election about Scotland and the future of our country. But it is clear there was a national wave we failed to overcome. That hurts.
I was clear throughout this election that my ambition was to deliver change for Scotland. I did not go into this campaign aiming for second place.
But while we fell short of delivering change in Bute House, we now have a responsibility as the main opposition party to hold the SNP to account for the promises they made, and a responsibility too to help bring our country together.
Over the next five years, Parliament cannot be allowed to disappear into more division and constitutional grievance. It must be focused on delivering for the people of Scotland. I know how much this result will hurt our candidates, our activists, our staff and our supporters.
They gave everything in this campaign. I am proud of the professionalism of our staff, proud of the quality and commitment of our candidates, proud of the extraordinary effort of our activists, and proud of the serious plan we put to the country.
Most of all, I want to thank every voter who backed Scottish Labour. We will continue to fight for you, for communities across Scotland and for the values we believe in.
Over the course of this campaign, I was on doorsteps right across Scotland, and one word came up again and again: scunnered. Some of that frustration was aimed at the SNP after 20 years of failure in government here in Scotland.
Some of it was broader than that. People are tired, angry and impatient with politics. They are fed up with promises that do not materialise and with being asked to settle for less.
We tried to respond to that by focusing relentlessly on the things that matter most in people’s lives: childcare, the NHS, safer and calmer classrooms, stronger communities.
But as the declining vote share of all the major parties and a weak turnout make clear, many Scots were simply sick of hearing from politicians.
That is not an excuse, but it is a crisis politicians of every party must respond to, or the forces of division that have begun to haunt our politics will succeed.
Over the days, weeks and months ahead, the Labour Party in Scotland and across the UK will have to reflect seriously on this result. We have to listen. We have to learn the lessons.
We have to understand not just where we fell short, but why. We have to hear what voters were telling us, including when the message is uncomfortable.
Reflection that means anything has to be honest, disciplined and unsparing. But reflection cannot become paralysis, and disappointment cannot become drift. The Scottish Labour Party is hurting, but that is not the most pressing issue.
The people who needed a government focused on the challenges Scotland faces, not constitutional chaos, still desperately need change. It is for them that we must get this right.
It is my job to hold our party together and our collective job to never forget the people who need change now more than ever.
Scotland still needs change. Our NHS still needs turned around. Family budgets are still under pressure. Young people still need opportunity. Communities still need a government that gets the basics right.
And as the main opposition party, it will be our job every day to fight for those people, to expose SNP failure, and to make the case for a different future.
One election defeat does not make those challenges disappear. The challenges Scotland faces make the need for a strong Scottish Labour Party more important than ever.
We lost the argument for change this time. Our job now is to understand why, to rebuild, to hold the government to account, so that we can serve the people who need change now more than ever.
View 3 Images(Image: Getty Images)
What is clear from this election is that Scotland cannot afford five more years dominated by constitutional grievance on one side and Reform’s poison on the other.
The danger in this Parliament is not just more SNP failure. It is that Reform tries to set the tone of opposition in Scotland with division, anger and grievance. That would drag our politics further into the gutter and do nothing for the people who want a government focused on the things that matter in their lives.
So the challenge now is straightforward. How do those of us who want change, who want better public services, a stronger NHS, lower pressure on family budgets and more opportunity for young people, make sure that politics in Scotland is not consumed by division?
That means putting the priorities of the people of Scotland ahead of constitutional obsession. It means focusing on the issues that matter most in people’s lives. And it means being serious about how those who believe in progressive change work together to stop Reform filling the space created by public anger and political disappointment.
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The choice for the next five years is whether Scottish politics becomes more divided and more bitter, or whether it can be brought back to the real priorities of the people we serve.
View 3 ImagesAnas Sarwar and Donald MacKinnon
One thing I love about elections is getting the chance to travel around Scotland, meet new people and see more of this beautiful country. One highlight from this year was meeting the new-born lambs of Scottish Labour’s fantastic new MSP Donald MacKinnon on his croft in Lewis.