Sir Keir Starmer to insist there will be no deal between Labour and the SNP

But the position of the three was undermined by Labour’s First Minister in Wales.

Mark Drakeford, who signed a co-operation agreement with the pro-independence Plaid Cyrmu after last year’s election, said they needed to be in power to make a difference.

In his speech to conference, he said no party had “a monopoly on good or progressive ideas.”

Recent polls have suggested Labour is on course to form the next government, however, there are questions over how much they will need to rely on Scottish votes to get Sir Keir into Number 10.

Currently, they only have one MP north of the border.  

In his keynote address this afternoon, Sir Keir will promise to “deliver change.”

He is expected to say: “You will 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. 

 “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.

“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.”

In his speech yesterday, Mr Sarwar insisted that Labour will take seats off the SNP at the next election to get Sir Keir “over the line”.

He told party members that there was “nothing progressive about Scottish nationalism.”

“It goes against the values of solidarity and social justice. It is an ideology based on what divides us, not what unites us,” he added.

Mr Sarwar said there was “a majority in Scotland for being part of the United Kingdom” as well as a “majority for change.”

“And crucially in Scotland and across the United Kingdom there is a majority to boot the Tories out of Downing Street.

“Our job is to build a campaign and the coalition to deliver that.

“Not a coalition of political parties. Let me be clear, no ifs, no buts, no deals with the SNP.

“It’s a coalition of the people to beat the Tories.

“Working with our trade union colleagues and all those who believe in a fairer, greener future, it is our job to build that coalition to win.”

In his speech, Mr Murray also distanced the party from the the Scottish Government.

“Let me be very clear – the SNP are not our friends – they exist for one reason only - to rip Scotland out of the UK.

“And don’t forget, at the last election Nicola Sturgeon encouraged people in England to vote Green, not Labour.

“So let me reiterate Keir’s message - No deals with the SNP. None. No, nay, never.

“The only deal we want to make is directly with the Scottish people.”

The strenuous ruling out of any deal with the SNP comes just weeks after rumours the leadership was going to change the party’s constitution to permanently ban any agreement.

Many in Labour have long blamed their defeat in 2015 on Tory claims that Ed Milliband would be in the pocket of Ms Sturgeon.

The campaign was resurrected by the Tories in the 2019 election and Liz Truss has recently claimed that a Starmer administration would need to be “propped up” by the SNP.

The party are keen to kill off that line of attack ahead of the next general election - expected in 2024.

However, the plan to change the constitution was given short shrift by both Welsh Labour and Scottish activists, and it was seemingly dropped the next day.

Sir Keir “doesn’t need to read a rule book to know his values on this” a source told the BBC. However, they added that it would “be logical” for such a deal to be ruled out in the Labour manifesto.

In his speech to conference, Mr Drakeford said the party would be betraying its voters if it did not do everything it could to get into government.

He told delegates: “The central reason our party’s existence, the reason why our members do all those things we ask of them, knocking those doors, delivering those leaflets, making those phone calls, is this, we exist to seek and to win political power.

“Not as an end in itself, but because only in that way can we change for the better the lives of those who rely on the Labour Party, rely on our party to fashion that better future for us all.

“And we can do better. Whether that’s through a Welsh Labour government, or a Labour mayor or a Labour council, we show every day the difference that Labour can make. And when we don’t, when we don’t win power on their behalf, let’s be clear, we let those people down.”

Mr Drakeford said that while this year marked the 100th year that Labour had dominated Welsh politics, he said the party had, “never governed alone.”

“The faultline in Welsh politics run right down the middle of the Senedd. On one side, a reactionary, out of touch deeply unloved Conservative Party, on the other side, those parties committed to social and economic progress.

“Do the parties of the central left agree on everything? Of course not. But we focus on those areas where progressive parties can agree.

“A politics which recognises the dominant position of Labour, but which also knows that no party has a monopoly on good or progressive ideas.”

Over the weekend, a poll by Savanta suggested Labour would secure 353 seats at the next general election, while the Tories would win 211.

However, the survey of 6,226 people, downplayed the prospect of a Scottish Labour comeback, predicting that the SNP would return 48 MPs.

But Katherine Sangster from the Fabians said her research showed that Labour "cannot form a majority" without winning seats in Scotland.

“Our research and recent focus groups show that people in Scotland share the same priorities and concerns as people in the rest of the UK as the cost-of-living crisis spirals out of control under the Tories.

“Younger, more aspirational voters in particular are looking for change, and we know they are open to voting for Labour. 

“Labour’s opportunity is to present a vision for a modernised, fairer, Britain, making the next election a straight choice between a Labour or Conservative Prime Minister.”

An SNP spokesman said Labour were "only interested in pursuing grubby backroom deals with the morally bankrupt Tory party in council chambers across the country."

He added: "That is despite Anas Sarwar's promise of 'no deals, no coalitions', a promise that was not worth the paper it was written on.

"Ultimately it does not matter which party is in government at Westminster because Labour provides no alternative while it continues its lurch to the right under Keir Starmer. Only independence can provide an escape route from the chaos at Westminster."