Gary Streeter has been speaking as eleven of his colleagues put their names forward to become Prime Minister.
The contest was called for after Theresa May stepped down following her failure to deliver Brexit.
Although Friday was her last day as Tory leader, she'll remain as prime minister until her successor is chosen.
Streeter (pictured below), who represents South West Devon said: "I think this leadership election is absolutely crucial.
"Politics is in a mess in Britain at the moment but we've been here before. I think the 1970s was an example of where we were all over the place politically but we tend always to come out of it, because we're that kind of nation.
"At the moment we're facing a leadership crisis, we need a new prime minister, with authority that 50 per cent plus one of us at Westminster can follow and in particular, to solve the Brexit problem and then to govern the country in a sensible way in the run up to an election probably in a couple of years time."
Boris Johnson remains the favourite but will face tough competition from the likes of Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt.
The first round of voting is expected to take place on Thursday.
A series of votes will follow over the coming weeks before just two candidates remain.
Conservative party members will then be asked to decide who is the right person for the role.
Asked what was the one thing he required from a new leader, Gary Streeter said: "Though I voted to remain I am persuaded we need a Brexiteer to lead us to honor the result of the 2016 referendum to deliver Brexit.
"I'm looking for someone who can absolutely do that and can go to Brussels and say, 'We're coming out on the 31st of October. We prefer to do that with a deal. If you would like to do that then let's have a chat. But if not, we're coming out anyway on the first of 31st of October, and we're not going beyond it.'"
But in encouraging Christians to pray over the process he said Brexit shouldn't be our starting point.
"I think it's a mistake for any Christian to think that God has said we either have to Brexit or we shouldn't Brexit...I think that's an open issue.
"Christians have different views on it. So let's not get too bogged down in that, I think we should simply pray that the right person is elected as leader."
Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.