A Conservative MEP has said Britain should "stand amicably aside" while the rest of the European Union pushes ahead with adoption of the new constitution.

In a pamphlet for the Politeia think tank, Daniel Hannan makes the case for UK membership outside the structures of the EU.

He argues that a British "no" vote in the 2006 referendum would not stop the constitutional plans taking effect.

Instead, he highlights the advantages for countries such as Norway that have remained outside the EU while joining in various free trade agreements.

Hannan says that Britain should adopt the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) as the "minimum terms" on which it should renegotiate Britain's relations with the other 24 EU members.

"EFTA is in the happy position that it need never be worse off than the EU, since it can always piggy-back the EU’s negotiations with third countries; but it can be better off, if it feels that the EU is being unduly protectionist," he writes.

Hannan urges supporters of the "no" campaign not to argue that a British rejection of the constitution will stop the whole process of ratification across the EU.

He says that "there is no need to worry about being shut out" in the event of a UK rejection of the plans.

"Claiming that a 'no' vote would halt the whole process is, in the correct sense of the word, incredible," he argues.

"No one will believe that, having invested three years - in some senses, 50 years - in getting to this point, the other countries will abandon their plans in order to humour Britain."

The Tory MEP for South East England adds that the British public "want to have a trading relationship with the rest of the EU, but to repatriate several powers currently exercised by Brussels".

"Rejecting the Constitution is an opportunity to arrive at precisely such a dispensation," he concludes.

"It would be perverse for the 'no' campaign not to say so.

"The referendum will not simply be a vote on the constitution itself. Rather, it will be a surrogate plebiscite on 30 years of successive transfers of power to Brussels.

"It will draw to a head the issue that Britain has been putting off throughout this time: whether to become part of a European polity, or whether to stand amicably aside while its neighbours push ahead with federation."