Jeremy Corbyn vowed to return Labour in Scotland to the “great fighting force” the country expected it to be as he set out his vision for a new kind of politics.
The party leader said he wanted people north of the border to look again at labour after its drubbing at the general election.
He also hailed Labour as the real progressive voice in Scotland and evoked the memory of Keir Hardie – the “last bearded man” to lead the party.
The veteran left-winger, who has pledged to visit Scotland once a month, told activists at the party conference in Brighton: “I know people in Scotland have been disappointed by the Labour party.”
Offering an olive branch to disaffected voters, he added: “I know you feel we lost our way. I agree with you.
“Kezia Dugdale has asked people to take another look at the Labour Party. That’s what I want people in Scotland to do. Under Kezia and my leadership we will change.
“We will learn the lessons of the past. We will again make Labour the great fighting force you expect us to be.
“It is Labour that is the progressive voice for Scotland.”
Laying out his vision for a kinder politics, he promised to listen to the views within the party and allow space for the “fizz” of ideas to “explode”.
But he restated unequivocally his personal opposition to Trident renewal, which was not picked for debate on the conference floor.
Mr Corbyn, who was using an auto-cue for the first time, insisted he had a “mandate” – after his landslide victory in the leadership contest – to pursue his view.
Reclaiming Labour as the real party of social aspiration, he said its message had always been “you don’t have to take what you are given”.
He added: “Labour says you may have been born poor, but you don’t have to stay poor. You don’t have to live without power and without hope, you don’t have to set limits on your talent and ambition.
“You don’t have to be grateful to survive in a world made by others. No, you set the terms for the people in power over you, and you dismiss them when they fail you.”
The Islington North MP, who received several standing ovations, also revealed he would not stop campaigning on the issues close to his heart, such as human rights.
Clad in a beige blazer, dark trousers and a red tie, he proposed an alternative to the “outdated and utterly failed approach” of Tory austerity.
He said the Conservatives had left the country ill-prepared for another crisis, with an “unbalanced, unsustainable” economy that is “frankly dangerous to the security of the people of this country”.
In a 59-minute speech light on policy, he reiterated his opposition to the Trade Union Bill and confirmed Labour would take the railways back into public ownership as the franchises expire.
He highlighted the problems in the private rented sector, citing housing as a “top priority”, and pledging to build 100,000 new council and housing association homes a year.
Mr Corbyn, who left the stage to soul track Working On A Building Of Love by Chairmen of the Board, called for a diplomatic strategy on Syria and urged Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene personally with the Saudi Arabian regime to stop the beheading and crucifixion of 17-year-old Ali Mohammed al-Nimr.
He did not, however, as some had predicted, use the speech to issue an apology for the Labour party’s role in taking Britain to war in Iraq under Tony Blair.
He insisted all the party’s policies would be subject to a comprehensive review, with Labour members having “the final say” on what they should be.