Keir Starmer won a sustained standing ovation for restated his opposition to any deal with the SNP to get into government.
Delegates lapped up his refusal to cooperate with Nicola Sturgeon ’s party as he sought to straddle the Brexit divide in the Labour Party as well as the constitutional divide in Scotland.
He said: “Labour will make Brexit work. Labour will deliver change. You’ll never get that from the Tories. And you won’t get it from the SNP either.
“Conference, the challenges we face – the cost-of-living crisis, climate change, standing up to Putin – are common across our four nations.
“We saw off the threat of fascism and deadly disease, together. We built the NHS and the welfare state, together. But I don’t believe in our union just because of our history. I believe in it because of our future.
“I know we can meet the great challenges to come. Build new beacons of fairness that light up the islands we share.”
He added: “Scotland needs a Labour Government that can deliver change. But it also needs the power and resources to shape its own future, whoever’s in power in Westminster. And the SNP are not interested in this. “
"For them, Scotland’s success in the UK is met with gritted teeth, seen as a roadblock to independence, and so, they stand in the way.”
Delegates got to their feet as Starmer declared: “We can’t work with them. We won’t work with them. No deal under any circumstances. A fairer, greener, more dynamic Scotland. In a fairer, greener, more dynamic, Labour Britain.”
Reacting to Starmer's speech, the SNP's Westminster Deputy leader Kirsten Oswald MP said Labour was "turning into" the Tories over its Brexit plan.
She said: "Keir Starmer's remarks not only failed to set out anything new or of substance to Scotland, they also reaffirmed yet again that only with independence will we be able to escape damaging Westminster control and repeated Tory governments for good.
"You don’t beat the Tories by turning into them but that’s exactly what the Labour Party is doing under Starmer's leadership by adopting the Tories' extreme Brexit, denying the people of Scotland's democratic right to choose their own future, and prioritising grubby council coalitions with the Tories across Scotland.
"Meanwhile, rehashed reports of constitutional tinkering provide absolutely no protection against Westminster austerity, naked power grabs and repeated Tory governments we don't vote for.
"While Labour has slid into irrelevance in Scotland, the SNP will continue to stand up for Scotland's interests. The reality is that only with independence will we be able to build a fairer society and escape damaging Westminster control and harmful policies we don't vote for."
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