Nick Clegg launches attack on Tories who want to 'unravel' Europe The deputy Prime Minister warned that failure to get a deal on the budget at a Brussels summit later this month may actually be more expensive for Britain. He also laid into politicians who think that "stamping your foot" will enable Britain to re-write its relationship with the EU. He said no one should misguidedly think the UK can "pick and choose" which rules it wants to follow. In a warning to the Tory leadership, Mr Clegg said there is a "shorter leap" than anyone thinks to Britain exiting the EU in "an outright crisis that would leave the UK fully marginalised." He also told eurosceptics that Britain "cannot afford to give the impression we are going to disengage," amid growing fears in Europe about the country's commitment to the EU. The speech came after George Osborne, the Chancellor, admitted that the British public is "more Eurosceptic" than ever. In contrast to the deputy Prime Minister, Mr Osborne tried to calm Tory rebels after by promising the Government would "listen" to their concerns about EU spending. Speaking on the BBC's Radio Four, George Osborne vowed the Prime Minister will go into next month's negotiations with the "toughest ever" demands on keeping down the budget. He said David Cameron will go for a cut "at best" and a freeze "at worst" - even though the European Commission wants an increase costing £10 billion to Britain over seven years. However, he said the "real test" for Tory MPs is still to come, when Mr Cameron brings home a proposal that might not be as good as they would like. The Chancellor's comments suggest Europe will remain a battleground for months to come, sparking accusations that the Tories are growing as divided on Brussels as they were in the 1990s. Mr Osborne insisted the Conservatives are united in wanting a cut in Brussels spending. But he admitted there will be a second crunch moment when MPs have to vote on a budget deal proposed by the Prime Minister after his talks with the 27 EU member countries. We've got to listen to all Conservative MPs and coalition MPs, whether they voted for or against the motion last night and ... I think the real test is going to come when the House of Commons is faced with a choice of whether to accept a deal or go for the alternative. It will come in the next year or so, it will only come if in David Cameron's judgment and the judgment of the British government, a deal is better than no deal. If that is our judgment then we will put it to the House of Commons, but the House of Commons is sovereign and it will make that decision. He suggested many MPs may at that point believe a deal offering a budget rise in line with inflation is better than the alternative of no deal at all, which would lead to annual increases. The question is and the question that the House of Commons and the British government will have to face and, ultimately, I guess, it's also for the British people is 'is that deal better than the alternative?' - and the alternative if we don't have a deal in Europe and, of course, we've not just got to get this past the House of Commons, there are also 26 other European countries who have also got vetoes and the like, are they also prepared to live with a deal? Mr Osborne also attacked Labour of "opportunism" in helping the rebels, when it has previously voted through huge increases in the EU budget. Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, told the BBC Labour had been "entirely consistent" in calling for a cut in recent months.