David Cameron leaving 10 Downing Street after naming his new Cabinet in London yesterday. Photos: ReutersDavid Cameron leaving 10 Downing Street after naming his new Cabinet in London yesterday. Photos: Reuters

Prime Minister David Cameron touted his election victory as a strong mandate to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the European Union, as his party proclaimed yesterday a new-found unity over the traditionally divisive issue.

Following his unexpected securing of an outright parliamentary majority, Cameron told lawmakers from his Conservative Party that they had won a famous victory last Thursday but there was no room for complacency.

“We have got a mandate; it will be tough obviously but we have got a mandate,” Cameron said of his planned EU renegotiation, before entering the meeting of lawmakers to cheers, applause and the appreciative banging of fists on tables.

Cameron has made clear one of his priorities for his second term will be to reshape Britain’s EU ties before holding a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether the country should stay in the bloc or leave.

The gathering took place in a wood-panelled parliamentary committee room overlooking the River Thames, off a corridor lined with the portraits of previous prime ministers such as Winston Churchill.

Cameron’s centre-right party can now govern alone following five years when it was in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Cameron was completing his Cabinet line-up yesterday, promoting several women, two Britons of Asian origin, and a lawmaker with strong links to working class voters to demonstrate he is what he called a “one nation” Prime Minister.

Since his re-election, Cameron has phoned several European leaders to discuss his planned EU renegotiation, which he has said will get under way soon.

Lawmakers said Cameron, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and finance minister George Osborne, would lead the talks.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (centre) leading with a dance a number of newly-elected Conservative Party MPs at the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday.Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (centre) leading with a dance a number of newly-elected Conservative Party MPs at the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday.

The issue of Europe has split the Conservatives before and contributed to the downfall of two of Cameron’s predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

Cameron, who has said his preference is for Britain to remain in a reformed EU, is keen to avoid another split. But he has not ruled out an exit if he fails to get the changes he wants.

Alistair Burt, a Conservative lawmaker, said the party was determined to avoid further infighting over Europe.

“We know the damage that it caused,” he told Reuters. “It didn’t settle anything in terms of the country’s relationship with Europe, all it did was destroy us. And the overwhelming sense is that we’re not going to do this again.”

Cameron hasn’t outlined a full list of everything he wants, but has said he would like to tighten EU migrants’ access to British welfare, win an opt-out from the idea of “ever closer” union inside the bloc, and make sure that decisions taken by eurozone states don’t disadvantage the country. Some EU officials and politicians have baulked particularly at the idea of re-opening the EU’s founding treaties for Cameron.

He got a boost yesterday, however, when former European Commission president José Manuel Barroso said Cameron was now in a stronger position to reshape Britain’s ties and that the bloc would give him some of what he wants.

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