She hailed her victory in Edinburgh Central as an "incredible result", adding: "I hope the message that was resonating was of being a strong opposition, to hold the SNP to account, to saying no to a second independence referendum, to respect the decision that our country made, and to really focus on the things we're paying a government to focus on, on schools, on hospitals, on public services. That's what people want."

David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, said it would be "good for Scotland, good for the Scottish Parliament" to have the Tories - who more than doubled their number of MSPs - as the official party of opposition.

Scotland’s only Tory MP added: "Ruth has demonstrated throughout this campaign that she is the one politician that can go toe-to-toe with Nicola Sturgeon, that she can stand up to demands for a second referendum.

"She can also scrutinise the SNP and make sure they deliver on promises they have made on health, on education, and I think by doing that we will get better government and that will be good for everyone in Scotland."