“Why the EU's Customs Union won't work for the UK”
– And for Labour and LibDem MPs, here's what a customs union actually is

The second of Facts4EU’s new, weekly Sovereignty Podcasts is here!

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2026

We are delighted to introduce the second episode in our new Podcast series, with Graham Dale

In his second episode, Graham looks at the topical subject of customs unions, and specifically that of the European Union. Many europhile MPs seem blissfully ignorant of what a customs union really is, so Graham enlightens them.

He also explains just why the UK doesn't even need one with the EU and why it would be very damaging if we were to join it. A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend just under 12 minutes of your time. You might learn a thing or two and in any case it never hurts to hear all the arguments and use some of them when confronted by Raving Rejoiners!

So who is this new Podcast Editor character, exactly?

As British as they come, our new Podcast Editor shares his birthplace with Josaiah Wedgewood and a certain Mr Robbie Williams. Both are major British export success stories, with Robbie Williams having just overtaken the Beatles for the highest number of No.1 albums in history. As for our Podcast Editor, his ambitions are not quite so lofty. He simply wants to make a difference to the way we all think about the direction of travel of our country.

A family man, Facts4EU’s own Staffordshire Terrier for independence and sovereignty is Graham Dale, now happily ensconced in North Wales with his long-suffering wife of over 40 years. Graham has led an interesting career, in banking and financial services, property, and as a business angel. Sadly, we must disappoint Graham if he thinks Robbie’s hit single Angels had anything to do that particular professional activity of his.

His interests, in addition to his family, include hill walking, the arts, British history and politics. It is the latter two which drove his desire to join us.

The Facts4EU Sovereignty Podcasts, Season 1, Episode II

We are delighted to present our Podcast Editor’s second broadcast:

“Why the EU's Customs Union won't work for the UK”
with Graham Dale of Independence Facts4EU.Org

This is Graham’s second podcast. As with episode I it was all done without notes, in one take. The rest of the team think this is pretty impressive. Our new team member certainly has a remarkable recall of detail ! Graham has what might be called a gentle style. He may not appeal to all, but as with Episode I, we found ourselves slowly being drawn in.

PLEASE NOTE! We recorded this on our 'Second Independence Day', January 31, 2026. This is of course the anniversary of the day we left the EU, or rather GB did, and we left Northern Ireland behind - something we are still fighting to change. This explains why Graham tells you at the beginning that "Today is the 31st of January"!

Produced and Directed by Leigh Evans, all content and presentation by Graham Dale, © Facts4EU.Org 2026.

Please don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Subscribe’ if you watch it on YouTube!
And please recommend it to all your friends by sending them this link:
https://facts4eu.org/news/2026_feb_not_the_uk_way

Future episodes

Going forward, Graham intends to restrict these podcasts to under 10 minutes. This way, he is likely to get more traction on YouTube and other social media. He is also planning to have guests from the world of politics, with an occasional celebrity. A former Secretary of State has already agreed to come on the show.

We hope you will become a regular viewer. Graham will be serving up a new episode every Wednesday. We have absolutely no idea what he will be discussing next week, but that’s going to be part of the appeal.

Would you work through the night for £1.27 per hour?
Maybe this is why many of the team can't afford to do it any more
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COMING TOMORROW…

Tomorrow we are back to a more normal Facts4EU offering – and it’s a big one! Shared exclusively with GB News, this is an exclusive report you do NOT want to miss.

Observations

‘Thought for the day’

For some of us, we think Graham’s podcasts each Wednesday are going to a be a little like a secular version of “Thought for the Day”, or GB News’ “Reflections”. With his calming, well-grounded voice, we can easily see ourselves being given a relaxing start to the day, whilst at the same time having something serious to think about.

Graham is a man who believes passionately in our country. When he approached our Chairman, it was this clear urge to help to put things right which persuaded him Graham was going to make a go of this. We expect him to get better each week and we’re looking forward to seeing this.

It only remains for us to say "Welcome Graham, to the very special club that is the Facts4EU team!!" And, we should add, we would be very happy to welcome more volunteers, as we are desparately short of bodies!

To our readers, we simply say "Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today." Thank you.

[ Sources: Graham Dale ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 04 Feb 2026

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Reader Comments 8

1. Have You Wondered , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 10:45:

.
Three observations: Firstly, I hope Rejoiners watch Graham Dale's video.
.
Second, the only 'advantage' of being in a Custom Union might be the easing of bureacracy in customs forms? But then, unless you are exporting individual bespoke items, then the forms are generic and just need a template for your export goods - Done? As Graham Dale said, the big downside is the UK cannot negotiate it's own deals, stumping up EU fees and would have to retire from those deals it has made already.
.
Third - and this is a big one ! All this is academic because:
.
I think the worlds electorate might wish to spend considerable time in reflecting on the fact that their economies, democracies and security were being formulated and directed in a place of ill repute on Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous Little Saint James island?
.
Why does the UK (or any other nation) need another level of corruption and malfeasance above that which the UK has already?
.

2. KB , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 13:34:

Why do they insist on calling it "A" customs union, instead of "THE" customs union ?
They are deluded if they think we are going to get a special customs union for the UK, because then everyone would want one.

3. Sparky , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:05:

So the country was encouraged to leave the EU (mainly on the back of immigration) which we have done. Leaving has been problematic and economically damaging but that's not the fault of Brexit? Of course it is!
.
And no mention of shared sovereignty over Northern Ireland or the arrangement for Gibraltar.
.
Extremely patronising to say that MP's do not understand what a Customs Union is and then say it is quite simple. Brexitears push the myth that the EU were being vindictive when they didn't give the UK everything that Brexitears wanted. The UK was always in a weaker negotiating position, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard who wrote Article 50, ensured that anyone leaving the EU would be in a weaker position. VoteLeave and Brexitears did not understand the process of leaving, they even said the UK would negotiate free trade agreements before starting the process of leaving. Now we're supposed to accept that the mess of Brexit wasn't the fault of Brexit.
.
The UK has an FTA with the EU with the CTA but it has rules built in such as country of origin. The main issue with the CTA is the hurdles it has put in place which were inevitable once the UK left the EU and became a third country to the EU. 2 billion, (that's 2,000,000,000) pieces of paperwork have been added to UK exports since 2021. M&S have had to open a warehouse in Northern Ireland just to hold the paperwork for exports to NI.
.
The Labour Party have in their 2024 manifesto closer ties with the EU and that is what is happening. If the UK should join a customs union which is unlikely and probably a couple of elections away if at all, what will the terms be, we don't know.

4. Old Albion , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:13:

quote
The Labour Party have in their 2024 manifesto closer ties with the EU and that is what is happening. If the UK should join a customs union which is unlikely and probably a couple of elections away if at all, what will the terms be, we don't know. endquote
And that is just about the only thing they've done, that was in their manifesto.

5. Mr Sceptic , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:18:

David Frost was asked on 2022 what evidence in future would convince him Brexit had failed. He said: “One piece of evidence of failure would be if we are still debating this in five or six years’ time in the same way.”

6. Sparky , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:20:

2 S. And I forgot to mention about the comment re a Customs Union protecting the business and not the consumer. It's about protecting the economy which is the businesses as employers and the consumers.

7. GazzaBlack , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 15:34:

5, septic tank
.
Are we debating it in the SAME way?
Or has the discussion evolved?
I think it's evolved
That makes your post fatuous nonsense.
.
.
3, sparkless
Your usual word salad Hiroo
You talk about patronising in reference to MP's not understanding what a customs union is
(spoiler alert Hiroo - they don't)
Then you go on to give a patronising statement about Brexiteers not understanding what leave meant
(spoiler alert Hiroo - we do)
.
.
Britain has avoided more than 600,000 pages worth of European Union regulations in the six years since Brexit
Since Britain’s exit from the bloc on January 31, 2020, there have been almost 10,000 directives, decisions and regulations imposed on member states.
The new orders include regulations which could see drivers face rules controlling the speed of their windscreen wipers, while businesses are forced to produce plans to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement, or risk fines of up to 5 per cent of global revenue under the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The simple truth is that leaving the EU has freed us from mountains of burdensome regulations.
.
And a reminder
In the EU, 29% of goods types are able to be imported from WTO members tariff free. In the UK after Brexit it is 53%. Thousands of goods types!
Now that is what benefits the consumer, not the bureaucracy of an EU customs union

8. Andy , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 16:28:

Usual nonsense from the Remainiac fanatics. I live in the EU and see it for what it is. That's why I return from England with two suitcases full of stuff ! I do not think most of the Remaniac fanatics who post here and elsewhere have a clue what they are talking about. Everything (almost) is more expensive here in Greece than it is in the UK. One example is a Bosch mouse sander PSM100, which was yesterday in the UK £31 (Amazon) and here €104 (Skroutz) or €52 (Amazon Germany). That £31 is roughly €36, so how come there is a difference of €16 or put another way 30% more expensive ??

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“Why the EU's Customs Union won't work for the UK” – And for Labour and LibDem MPs, here's what a customs union actually is

The second of Facts4EU’s new, weekly Sovereignty Podcasts is here!

We are delighted to introduce the second episode in our new Podcast series, with Graham Dale

So who is this new Podcast Editor character, exactly?

Future episodes

Any credit card user

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

COMING TOMORROW…

Observations

Any credit card user

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Reader Comments 8

1. Have You Wondered , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 10:45:

2. KB , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 13:34:

3. Sparky , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:05:

4. Old Albion , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:13:

5. Mr Sceptic , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:18:

6. Sparky , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 14:20:

7. GazzaBlack , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 15:34:

8. Andy , Wednesday, February 04, 2026, 16:28:

“Why the EU's Customs Union won't work for the UK”
– And for Labour and LibDem MPs, here's what a customs union actually is