Douglas Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, said:

“The Conservative leadership seems to be spending more time negotiating with their backbenchers than negotiating with Europe to deliver real reform.

“All of us know change in Europe is needed, but the tragedy is that David Cameron’s internal party weakness is preventing him from approaching the need for reform in a sensible way.

"A year on from his Bloomberg speech, David Cameron’s approach to the EU has been shown to be not just bad policy, but also a bad party management strategy, with nearly half of his own backbenchers just this week demanding more.

"Instead of threatening exit, David Cameron and George Osborne should be focused on delivering reform in Europe. Reform in Europe not exit from Europe represents the right road for Britain.”