There was something refreshing about former education secretary Justine Greening’s recent warning to her Tory colleagues that they have a duty to ensure the Brexit deal is "sustainable and works for" young people. "You can’t do Brexit to young people," she said, "you’ve got to do it with young people. That’s not a policy suggestion, it’s a simple fact."

It is indeed refreshing to hear a politician – and a Conservative one at that – speak of concern for young people. But such concern is misguided.

Brexit is a total negation of the will of young people. Journalist Philip Stephens was among those to recently remind us that most MPs in the House of Commons consider Brexit an act of self-mutilation. And yet they will vote against their judgment because "the referendum, with its narrow majority for leave, has been invested with an absurd, almost mythical status". Let no one dare question the "will of the people".

Poll shows Britons don't understand what Theresa May wants from Brexit

The time has come for Westminster to take some responsibility for this disaster: if you go ahead with decimating our future, you will have to live with the consequences. If it isn’t stopped, the generational chasm created by Brexit will come to define our modern democracy.

What did Greening really mean when she spoke of a sustainable Brexit for young people? With the leaked impact reports of last week predicting what, really, we already knew (Brexit will hurt our economy – slowing national growth by up to 8 per cent), how is the government planning on securing a deal which compensates us for a Brexit? Do they really expect us to accept a policy which will make it harder to go to university, harder to get a job, harder to start a family and harder to buy a house?

The Tory party’s position is untenable and out of touch. Greening’s endeavour to bring young voices into the fold is commendable. But it is not enough. Her party has been hijacked by a group of extremists who, if they have it their way, will set Britain further down its current isolationist path. The youth vote of today is different, both from Greening’s and her party’s outlook. We are outward facing – 73 per cent voted to remain – and we wholeheartedly reject the reactionary ideology which guides this government.

We are united around a central strategy of pushing Jeremy Corbyn off the fence on Brexit: for too long the Labour party have benefited from a policy of cynical obfuscation. Not only that, but a recent poll found that they stand to gain considerably if they come down behind an anti-Brexit position. Among the young, just 28 per cent say they would support a pro-Brexit Labour party. This almost doubles to 46 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds if the party’s policy is changed to anti-Brexit. Among the under 40s, support for Labour drops from 73 per cent to 39 per cent if they maintain their current stance on Brexit.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

To be sure, stopping Brexit can’t be an end in itself. This country needs to come together around a new grand social pact that will reconcile the cities and the countryside, the North with the South, and the privileged few with the vast numbers of people who have for too long been neglected by both New Labour and Conservative governments. In the coming weeks and months, we will travel around the country, listening to people and forming our plan.

Last year, we found inspiration in two places: the En Marche! movement in France and the campaign for same sex marriage in Ireland, both of whom we are working with closely. In these campaigns, the youth were vociferous. And in both they made a decisive impact on the result. We will channel the anger of Britain’s young in a similar way here. Justine Greening is right: Brexit cannot be done without young people. But it cannot be done with them either.