Kezia Dugdale has written to Scottish Labour members saying they "must continue to fight for what we believe in" after she vowed to keep leading the party despite its "heartbreaking" result in the Holyrood election.
Labour finished third with 24 seats - down 13 from 2011 and its worst-ever result in the Scottish Parliament vote - meaning they were overtaken by the Scottish Conservatives, who become the main opposition with 31 MSPs.
In an email, Ms Dugdale said the need for a party arguing for "using the power of government to invest in people" was more important than ever.
She wrote: "We could have fought an election that was about the arguments of two years ago but we chose to stand up for what we believe in.
"We will keep standing for our belief that we can choose to be better than this. Despite the disappointment of the final results, hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens stood with us.
"I'll keep fighting for our values."
Labour suffered the loss of a dozen constituency seats and swings to the Conservatives as it saw its support in its former heartlands all but evaporate.
Ms Dugdale failed to secure the Edinburgh Eastern seat in which she was standing and had to rely on a regional list seat to return to the Scottish Parliament.
Elsewhere, the party lost Eastwood to the Conservatives and failed to win a single constituency seat in Glasgow - which was once a Labour stronghold.
Last May, the party lost all but one of their MPs in Scotland as the SNP swept the board in the general election.
Speaking after watching Labour's vote crumble across Scotland, Ms Dugdale said she was "heartbroken, without question" at finishing third behind the Tories but insisted she would remain as leader.
"We always knew last night's election would be hard for us. But that doesn't make it any easier this morning. Especially when so many members and supporters gave so much time and effort. But our campaign continues," she wrote in her email.
"Listening to our opponents on TV last night it's clear they want us to give up. We won't. Why? Because we believe in something.
"We fought for what we believe in at this election - for using the power of government to invest in people.
"That is an idea that has been at the root of progress in this country for a century. After this result, and the election campaign of the last few weeks, it's clearer than ever that if we don't stand for this then no-one will.
"I hope this result will act as a rallying call for everyone who shares our values to join us. Let's ask those people who we know share our principles to be part of our movement."
Labour had some successes, including constituency holds for Iain Gray and Jackie Baillie, and a win for Daniel Johnson from the SNP in Edinburgh Southern.
The party also returned four MSPs on the Glasgow list, including former MP Anas Sarwar and former leader Johann Lamont.
Senior figures within Labour backed Ms Dugdale to stay on in her role, including Mr Gray, Mr Sarwar, Lothians list MSP Neil Findlay and Ian Murray, Labour's only MP.
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