Activists from the People’s Vote campaign have said they are to sever links with the organisation after weeks of infighting that have left efforts to secure a second referendum in disarray.

Campaigners from the two main youth groups, For Our Future’s Sake (FFS) and the staff of Our Future Our Choice, said they were cutting links in order to run a scheme encouraging young voters to vote tactically in key seats. It is understood that former Labour leader Tom Watson has been in talks about taking part in the effort.

It comes after a week of talks to resolve a long-running dispute over control of the campaign broke down on Friday night, with dozens of staff still refusing to return to work after several weeks on strike.

The row erupted when Roland Rudd, the PR guru and People’s Vote chairman, was accused of a boardroom coup after setting up a new company, Baybridge, to oversee the campaign.

The shake-up also involved the dismissal of two senior campaign figures and prompted the staff walkout, which remains unresolved.

Amanda Chetwynd-Cowieson, co-founder of FFS, said: “It’s really important that we can mobilise young people in the seats that matter in this election. Too much effort has been wasted on competing organisations fighting over who has the best app or tactical voting website. We all know where the seats that matter are, we all the know the risk of anti-Brexit votes being divided. We all just want to get on with campaigning once again.”

Rudd announced on Friday that he was resigning from the People’s Vote campaign, but angered his internal critics when two of his allies were put in charge. He was also accused of reneging on a potential compromise deal that was near completion. However, allies of Rudd said he was being unfairly targeted and that he was stepping away from the People’s Vote campaign and the Baybridge vehicle he set up to oversee it. They said compromise talks were still taking place.

At the heart of the row is a struggle over the funding and data behind the campaign, largely controlled by the Open Britain group that Rudd is now leaving. During weeks of infighting, one acting chief executive of the People’s Vote campaign has already taken a leave of absence to clear his name after being accused of acting inappropriately towards female colleagues.