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Jeremy Corbyn risks leading Labour to a general election disaster if he is perceived by young voters as pro-Brexit, according to research for a new youth movement formed to keep Britain in the European Union.

Labour’s vote share would plummet from today’s 42 per cent to just 30 per cent if the party is seen to side with Conservatives in going ahead with Brexit.

The Conservatives would win with a big 12-point lead, revealed the YouGov survey carried out for Our Future, Our Choice.

Labour would also lose support by going all-out anti-Brexit, too — but the damage would be far less severe than if it backed Leave.

Will Dry, a co-founder of Ofoc, said: “This polling shows that when Corbyn does come off the fence, it will be in Labour’s interest to oppose, not appease, the drastic blow to our future that is Brexit.”

The two biggest parties are currently neck and neck in most polls, at around 42 per cent each.

Today’s research suggests a significant number of Labour voters think the party is anti-Brexit when in fact it is committed to abiding by the result of the 2016 referendum. Over half of Labour voters under 40 think Brexit will have a bad impact on people like them, yet only two in five think the party does not reflect their opinion.

Labour’s manifesto position at the last election was to leave the EU, while seeking similar benefits to the single market and customs union.

Ofoc’s research suggests that Labour is benefiting from Mr Corbyn’s strategy of “constructive ambiguity” designed to appeal to both Remainers in London and Brexiteers in the party’s northern heartlands.

Ofoc argues that Labour will be unable to please both sides as 2018 unfolds because of major votes on Brexit in Parliament and the possibility of another general election if the Government falls.

The research indicates the biggest risk to Mr Corbyn would be losing idealistic young Remainers who currently perceive him to be on their side. In that scenario, the Liberal Democrats could be brought back from the dead. As the only major national party opposing Brexit, it would surge from dismal single-figure support to a rejuvenated 22 per cent.

Labour would also lose support by opposing Brexit, rather than sitting on the fence, the study found.