Sussex Tory MP Nicholas Soames has attacked the Conservative Party for having a "mad obsession with gays, blacks and women".
The remarks by the former armed forces minister have increased the pressure on party leader Iain Duncan Smith.
Mr Duncan Smith has been accused of failing to promote key Tory values as he seeks to advocate "compassionate" Conservatism.
Mid Sussex MP Mr Soames said the party was making "absolutely zero" impact on attacking the Government.
This, he said, was because of its "mad obsession with gays, blacks and women".
He said: "We have got to stop boring people with irrelevant issues, like how many gay candidates we have, and concentrate on issues that matter to ordinary, decent people instead of a few weirdoes in Islington.
"Do we look like a serious, sane, responsible political party ready to take power? No."
He said the party looked like a "poor man's Church of England on a bad day."
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