This is Cornwall -- A Westcountry Conservative MP last night urged party Eurosceptics to "stop banging on about Europe" or risk losing the next election.
Gary Streeter, a former a parliamentary aide to John Major, said it was "time for colleagues to stop running around like headless chickens and get behind the Prime Minister" after a week of difficult headlines about the party's old divisions over Europe.
The South West Devon MP spoke out following comments from former foreign secretary Lord Howe, who claimed David Cameron was losing control of his party as the Conservatives' "long, nervous breakdown" over the issue continued.
"If we are not careful it will be shades of 1992-97 all over again," said Mr Streeter, recalling the self-inflicted damage done to Mr Major's government over the issue of Europe.
"It is time to rally round the Prime Minister and the policy. We need to stop looking for perfection when we already have a good policy.
"If we are not careful we will allow in a Labour government which is the opposite of what we want.
"It is time to see the bigger picture – we have got a good policy on Europe and we now need to focus on the economy, the deficit and public sector reform.
"We might need another five years to do that, but if we keep banging on about Europe every day, and having these tribal splits, I don't think the public will give us the opportunity and the country will be the poorer for it."
In a failed amendment to the Queen's Speech, 130 MPs last week voted to register "regret" at the Government's decision not to include an EU referendum Bill in its new legislative programme.
It followed the announcement that a law to enshrine the Prime Minister's pledge for an in-out EU referendum vote by 2017 will not take place this year.
Yesterday, Conservative MPs woke to a strongly worded attack by Lord Howe, who said Mr Cameron had "opened a Pandora's box politically" through his plan to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the European Union.
Writing in The Observer, Lord Howe said: "The ratchet-effect of Euroscepticism has now gone so far that the Conservative leadership is in effect running scared of its own backbenchers, let alone UKIP, having allowed deep anti-Europeanism to infect the very soul of the party.
"The risk now is that, if it loses the next general election – a far from negligible possibility – the Conservative party will move to a position of simply opposing Britain's continued membership, with or without a referendum."
Six Westcountry Conservatives voted in favour of the amendment. South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray backed the amendment but did not vote because she was hosting a ministerial visit.
"I wholeheartedly supported the amendment because I believe the British people should have a say sooner rather than later," she said.
"I also took on board the message from the local elections in South East Cornwall that people don't trust what politicians say unless you can show them the evidence.
"Nick Clegg, I believe, has been very unhelpful because he very clearly made a promise to have an in-out referendum in his election literature in 2010. For him to now say he doesn't agree with it just fuels the public's lack of confidence in what politicians say."
Mrs Murray also said she was "100% behind" the Private Member's Bill from Stockton South MP James Wharton. He will put forward legislation drafted by the Conservative Party leadership, which would require a national referendum by the end of 2017 on the question: "Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?" Reported by This is 17 hours ago.
Gary Streeter, a former a parliamentary aide to John Major, said it was "time for colleagues to stop running around like headless chickens and get behind the Prime Minister" after a week of difficult headlines about the party's old divisions over Europe.
The South West Devon MP spoke out following comments from former foreign secretary Lord Howe, who claimed David Cameron was losing control of his party as the Conservatives' "long, nervous breakdown" over the issue continued.
"If we are not careful it will be shades of 1992-97 all over again," said Mr Streeter, recalling the self-inflicted damage done to Mr Major's government over the issue of Europe.
"It is time to rally round the Prime Minister and the policy. We need to stop looking for perfection when we already have a good policy.
"If we are not careful we will allow in a Labour government which is the opposite of what we want.
"It is time to see the bigger picture – we have got a good policy on Europe and we now need to focus on the economy, the deficit and public sector reform.
"We might need another five years to do that, but if we keep banging on about Europe every day, and having these tribal splits, I don't think the public will give us the opportunity and the country will be the poorer for it."
In a failed amendment to the Queen's Speech, 130 MPs last week voted to register "regret" at the Government's decision not to include an EU referendum Bill in its new legislative programme.
It followed the announcement that a law to enshrine the Prime Minister's pledge for an in-out EU referendum vote by 2017 will not take place this year.
Yesterday, Conservative MPs woke to a strongly worded attack by Lord Howe, who said Mr Cameron had "opened a Pandora's box politically" through his plan to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the European Union.
Writing in The Observer, Lord Howe said: "The ratchet-effect of Euroscepticism has now gone so far that the Conservative leadership is in effect running scared of its own backbenchers, let alone UKIP, having allowed deep anti-Europeanism to infect the very soul of the party.
"The risk now is that, if it loses the next general election – a far from negligible possibility – the Conservative party will move to a position of simply opposing Britain's continued membership, with or without a referendum."
Six Westcountry Conservatives voted in favour of the amendment. South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray backed the amendment but did not vote because she was hosting a ministerial visit.
"I wholeheartedly supported the amendment because I believe the British people should have a say sooner rather than later," she said.
"I also took on board the message from the local elections in South East Cornwall that people don't trust what politicians say unless you can show them the evidence.
"Nick Clegg, I believe, has been very unhelpful because he very clearly made a promise to have an in-out referendum in his election literature in 2010. For him to now say he doesn't agree with it just fuels the public's lack of confidence in what politicians say."
Mrs Murray also said she was "100% behind" the Private Member's Bill from Stockton South MP James Wharton. He will put forward legislation drafted by the Conservative Party leadership, which would require a national referendum by the end of 2017 on the question: "Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?" Reported by This is 17 hours ago.