Labour activists have insisted Sarah Boyack’s defeated re-election campaign in Edinburgh Central was a “strong” campaign that saw positive reactions from constituents on the doorstep.

The SNP’s Marco Biagi took the university seat as the party romped to the first overall majority in the Scottish Parliament. Emma Meehan, a Labour student activist and soon-to-be Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) vice president for societies and activities, told The Student it was a “hugely disappointing” night locally and nationally for Scottish Labour.

Meehan also said the seat’s “incredibly close result” was due to Labour not doing enough to attract Lib Dem voters.

She said: “We fought a really strong campaign in Edinburgh central. Sarah is a fantastic MSP who has been working for students over the past 11 years, and has worked closely with EUSA in the past. When campaigning we always saw a really positive response from constituents in regards to Sarah’s local work.”

She added: “Obviously it was really disappointing that Sarah wasn’t re elected as a constituency MSP, but as you can see from the majority of 237, it was an incredibly close result. Rather like other seats in Scotland, Labour failed to attract previous Lib Dem voters, who gave their vote to the SNP, resulting in an SNP win.”

Boyack has served the Edinburgh Central constituency since the parliament’s inception in 1999, and despite losing her seat will return to the parliament as a list MSP for the Lothians.

Meehan admitted the next few years would be difficult for Scottish Labour, as the party returned to Holyrood with only 37 seats to the SNP’s 69. Before the election, Scottish Labour trailed by only one seat, 47 to 46.

She said: “It was a hugely disappointing night for Scottish Labour, and clearly indicates the need for the root and branch review that will now take place, identifying what went wrong on a national level. It will be a tough few years for Labour but I'm confident we can begin the fightback at next year's council elections.

“However, with her election as a list MSP I’m confident that Sarah will continue to do great work for students across the Lothians."