DERBY North Labour MP Chris Williamson said the appointment of Euro-sceptic Philip Hammond as Foreign Secretary in yesterday's reshuffle was "bad news for British business".
He said this was because being part of Europe had been key to Derbyshire's economic progress.
Mr Williamson said: "This will be bad news for anyone concerned about growth in the British economy.
"We know Toyota came to Derby because Derby is in a country that is in Europe.
"If Britain, wasn't in Europe, Derbyshire wouldn't have got Toyota."
Mr Hammond replaced William Hague, whom former Foreign Secretary and Derby South MP Dame Margaret Beckett said had "largely, not done a bad job" despite their political differences.
But she added: "I think it's unfortunate the way the Foreign Office position has been weakened by the Treasury.
"They have always been under-funded but now they are really under-funded.
"The consequence is that it's lost some of its capacity to inform the Government of what is happening.
"You get the feeling that it was caught unawares by what happened in Ukraine.
"The issue [of funding] is one which you would have hoped the Foreign Secretary would have defended their department over."
South Derbyshire Conservative MP Heather Wheeler called William Hague's move from Foreign Secretary to leader of the Commons "the surprise of the reshuffle".
She said: "His debating skills are second to none and he has a famously quick mind."
Mr Williamson said he was "delighted" that Owen Patterson was sacked as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – replaced by Elizabeth Truss, MP for South West Norfolk.
He said Mr Patterson had appeared to take a "science-free approach" when it came to making decisions on the badger cull.
It was Mr Paterson, a multi-lingual Oxbridge graduate, who had overseen the much-maligned attempt to put the brakes on the spread of bovine TB, by culling badgers.
The second year of two cull pilots, in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset, will go ahead with changes made, in light of a report, to improve the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of culling.
Mrs Wheeler said the way Mr Patterson had tackled the "scourge of bovine TB" had been "brave".
She said: "He has tackled one of the worst crises ever to affect farmers in this country.
"Thousands of cattle have had to be slaughtered and farmers have committed suicide as a result.
"I'm sorry he's gone because he had the courage to do something about this."
Mrs Wheeler said she was delighted for her fellow women who now had high-ranking cabinet positions.
She said: "They are highly intelligent ladies who have been safe pairs of hands in their previous roles.
"They will bring a new perspective around the cabinet team."
