Voters are confused over Labour's position on immigration, with most being unclear on where the party stands, according to a new YouGov poll shared exclusively with BuzzFeed News.
People who want more controls on immigration believe that Labour wants the opposite, the poll found. But people who want the rules to stay the same or be relaxed are more likely to believe that Labour backs tougher controls.
Theresa May is expected to announce on Tuesday that she will be seeking an end to freedom of movement in Brexit negotiations, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has struggled to present a consistent position. Last week he announced that the party was not wedded to free movement but then appeared to row back in media interviews.
The YouGov poll found that 69% of all voters believe immigration rules should be tightened, while only 22% believe they should stay the same or be relaxed. Among Conservatives, the difference is 87% to 9%.
Among Labour supporters, it's more finely balanced, with 54% saying they want tougher rules, and 42% supporting the status quo or a relaxation of controls.
Asked by the pollsters where they thought Labour stood on immigration, however, voters were far from certain.
Of all voters, 31% asked thought that Labour wanted to relax immigration rules, 19% that the party wanted to keep the same rules, and 13% that it would tighten the rules.
But things get more complicated when respondents are split according to where they stand on immigration.
Only 11% of people who want tighter immigration rules believe Labour agrees with them, while 55% believe Labour currently stands for similar or more relaxed immigration policy.
Of the people who want to either keep current immigration rules or make them more relaxed, 20% believe that Labour disagrees with them and wants tighter immigration controls.
The rest are split on whether the party wants to keep current immigration rules (24%) or relax them (22%).
This confusion may be explained by the party's confused messaging on the issue.
While Corbyn has repeatedly said he is comfortable with current levels of immigration, briefings from his team hinted last week that he could be prepared to let go of free movement in Brexit negotiations.
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, on the other hand, wants to keep freedom of movement, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell has been a critic of free movement in the past.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary Labour party has become split on the issue, with some groups advocating for firmer controls on immigration and others campaigning to keep free movement as part of the Brexit deal.