The events of the past week have been tumultuous for the Conservatives who found themselves, once again, at the centre of a political storm as the party divided in its support of the Prime Minister.

More than 100 MPs voted to remove Theresa May, while 200 voted for her to stay, and there is still no Brexit deal that everyone is happy with.

And south Bucks is at the centre of the debacle, with Wycombe MP Steve Baker, a hardline Brexiteer and former junior Brexit minister, leading the fight to leave the European Union with a Brexit deal that will allow the UK to govern itself as a “free and independent country” away from the EU, and Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve, a staunch Remainer, who is leading the Tory rebels in having a “meaningful” vote on the withdrawal plans while still pushing for another referendum.

Then there is Chesham and Amersham MP Dame Cheryl Gillan, who is strong in her support of the Prime Minister, branding her “courageous” in coming back to “face the House [of Commons]” and calling off the crucial vote on her Brexit deal so she can go back to Brussels and ask for changes to be made.

Speaking to the Bucks Free Press this week, Mr Baker said he lost confidence in the Prime Minister when he realised she was not going to change her policy and that it was “nothing personal”.

He said: “It’s about not being able to support a policy to split up the United Kingdom and leave us a regulatory satellite of the EU unable to govern ourselves independently.

“We are simply trying to uphold the democratic decision of the UK in a way that’s fit for us as an independent and free country, and this withdrawal agreement doesn’t do that.”

“There are plenty of Remainers who cannot support this withdrawal agreement. I’m not alone.

“We are simply trying to uphold the democratic decision of the UK in a way that’s fit for us as an independent and free country, and this withdrawal agreement doesn’t do that.”

Mr Baker, who voted for Mrs May to step down this week, said it was important to be “clearly united” behind someone who has been in the cabinet, who believes in leaving the European Union and who “understands what needs to be done”, adding: “Esther McVey, Dominic Raab, David Davis and Boris Johnson are the people I have mentioned. Those people should be getting in a room and deciding which one of them it is.

“But this is off the table now. The Conservative party has decided, partly because Mrs May has promised to go before the next election, to keep her for a year without challenge.”

He said this Parliament had been a “quite miserable” experience trying to govern in minority “since she [Theresa May] took a position of extraordinary advantage and turned it into a minority government” at last year’s election.

Mrs May admitted this week that as it stands, the deal “would be rejected by a significant margin” if MPs voted on it and that she wanted to take it back to Brussels to make changes and get “reassurances” on the Northern Ireland border plan, according to national reports.

Mr Baker said MPs could not vote on “any old deal”, adding: “I was a government minister and I have been loyal to the government but I am determined to deliver a good Brexit for this country so that we are a free and independent country contributing positively to Europe and the world, and this Brexit [deal] doesn’t do it.”

Speaking about his relationship with the other south Bucks MPs, Mr Baker said he regarded his colleagues with the “greatest of warmth” and that he has talked to Mr Grieve to “advance together the interests of the people of south Buckinghamshire”.

He said: “We all know what we believe and we all regard each other as people of integrity and good will. There is a great deal of hope.

“Dominic Grieve and I have been two of the big organisers on each side of the argument but still we can sit down and have a civilised conversation.”

“I’m very pleased that we can all work together and go forward positively but it is difficult to see how we can get through the rest of this Parliament when we are in minority government and the DUP can’t support the main policy.” There’s no getting away from the problem.

“Dominic Grieve wants to reverse the result – he’s entitled to take that view, but a majority of the public decided that we should leave.

“We – Dominic Grieve, David Lidington, Cheryl [Gillan] and indeed the Speaker [John Bercow, Buckingham MP] – will all continue to work together co-operatively and constructively, and in the interests of all of our voters.”