Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar attacked both sides of the referendum divide in a call for opponents to step back and deal with the covid recovery at Holyrood.
The Glasgow MSP, who stood against SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in the city, saw his party lose two seats while independence and the union appeared to spur the two largest parties on.
Mr Sarwar, in a set-piece speech on Sunday, said Conservatives had “pushed people into the hands of the SNP”.
“I’m not willing to allow those constitutional divides to stop us from the important work we must do in the here and now,” he added.
“I think the people of Scotland have sent a message: Not now, focus on the recovery, not a referendum. That’s what my relentless focus will be.”
‘Future is not a game’
Mr Sarwar appealed to his opponents to tackle the big problems when work resumes at Holyrood.
“Scotland’s future is not a game,” he added.
“The choices that we make in the coming days, the decisions that we take in our parliament in the coming months and years, will shape the kind of country we are for a generation.”
Earlier, Conservative leader Douglas Ross claimed his party is now a credible alternative to the SNP for the next election in 2026.
He admitted the party has to take the opportunity to move on from being seen as mainly an anti-independence party.
He said: “We promised that if pro-UK voters united behind us, we would stop an SNP majority. We did it.”
Ms Sturgeon also promised her focus is on building back from the pandemic before giving Scots a chance for another vote on the constitution.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson is oppose to allowing a legal referendum, like the one which was held in 2014.