Sign in

Venetia Caine

@venetiacaine.bsky.social
252 followers 190 following 275 posts

Pragmatist, moderate, what works over ideology. Remainer of course. Worked in HM Treasury, probation, and (in France) university teaching, long enough in each to gather some moss. Apt to 'like' cat photos. Blog: musiewild.wordpress.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Buitengebieden @buitengebieden.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Living the best life.. 😊
871379
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Buitengebieden @buitengebieden.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This took me a second.. 😅
291257176
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Buitengebieden @buitengebieden.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
That’s a way.. 😅
201003131
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
5145171509
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 08/09/2026
Spot on 🎯
521832533
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
We need to get "UK bond prices are affected by things other than UK government policy" posters in a big font for the press rooms in Parliament.
1835073
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
FPTP doesn’t just distort election results. It discourages people from voting at all. As former No 10 comms chief, Craig Oliver admits: “the reason they don’t turn out to vote is often they live in an area where they can’t have an impact.” Every vote should count equally. It’s time to replace FPTP
01818
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I would be interested in views on the following: it should be illegal to like and/or share any material on social media portraying illegal behaviour. Also, and I am aware that there are arguments against, the ability to post anonymously on social media should be abolished.
000
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Zoe Williams pointing out the absence of clothes on the Emperor - hooray. I found him disgusting. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
I knew Rod Liddle and hated what he became. He would have wanted me to say so | Zoe Williams
A man who prized blunt speaking has been selectively eulogised. There’s a balance between decency and honesty: I’m sad he caused such harm, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams
000
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Oh if only... x.com/CountBinface...
x.com
Count Binface (@CountBinface) on X
There now follows a party election broadcast by the Count Binface Party, And if I do say so myself, it's a banger. #VoteBinface #Clacton
000
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Steve Richards @steverichards.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Latest podcast - podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...
podcasts.apple.com
Can Andy Burnham deliver a National Care Service?
Podcast Episode · Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards · 28 July · 41min
1179
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 25/07/2026
Andy Burnham wants growth for every region. There's an obvious lever to pull to achieve it. That delivers a £92 billion economic boost. Distributed across the UK. And especially to manufacturing-intensive areas in the Midlands & North. The answer to his domestic policy agenda? EU membership.
16447123
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Pat G🇨🇦 🍁🏳️‍🌈🍉 @pguist.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Trump thought suing the BBC would intimidate them. Instead, they turned his own lawsuit into a legal headache that could force him to defend his actions surrounding January 6 under oath. That is the kind of self inflicted karma no political strategist could have scripted.
28665461860
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Today is World Refugee Day. Here’s a poem called ‘Refugees’.
Refugees

They have no need of our help
So do not tell me
These haggard faces could belong to you or me
Should life have dealt a different hand
We need to see them for who they really are
Chancers and scroungers
Layabouts and loungers
With bombs up their sleeves
Cut-throats and thieves
They are not
Welcome here
We should make them
Go back to where they came from
They cannot
Share our food
Share our homes
Share our countries
Instead let us
Build a wall to keep them out
It is not okay to say
These are people just like us
A place should only belong to those who are born there
Do not be so stupid to think that
The world can be looked at another way

(now read from bottom to top)


Brian Bilston
381047459
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Mark Pack @markpackuk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Vote Conservative, get Reform: once again, Kemi Badenoch says something that Lib Dems will be quoting time and time again.
Kemi Badenoch in The Spectator saying she would put Nigel Farage into 10 Downing Street in a hung Parliament.
51584247
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Shameful. Whatever happened to that 'useless, but really nice" person?
000
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
The Napoleonic tradition really does nail it sometimes.
15352115
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Liberal Democrats @libdems.org.uk · 31/05/2026
Liberal Democrats know our future is at the heart of Europe, and we have a credible plan to get there. It starts with a UK-EU Customs Union.
Liberal Democrats campaign graphic with the message “UK-EU Customs Union now!” in large orange and white text on a dark blue background.
39028
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Thought experiment: what, if anything, would Tony Blair and George Osborne disagree on?
5218121
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
000
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Britain should rejoin EU, says man who led Brexit department Philip Rycroft, who oversaw the Department for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2019, said none of Leave’s ‘heady promises’ had materialised www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Britain should rejoin EU, says man who led Brexit department
Philip Rycroft, who oversaw the Department for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2019, said none of Leave’s ‘heady promises’ had materialised
62982409
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Vote whichever way will keep out Reform
000
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Politics UK @politicsuk.com · 19/04/2026
🚨 NEW: The Lib Dems have reported Richard Tice to HMRC after he reportedly failed to pay over £100,000 in corporation tax
13510
Reposted by Venetia Caine
The Week in Polls @theweekinpolls.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Labour leads Reform by 8% (on preferred choice) – politicalbetting.com
buff.ly
Labour leads Reform by 8% (on preferred choice) – politicalbetting.com
The web's premier resource for political betting.
031
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I hope Starmer finally finds the courage to face the inevitable howls of 'BREXIT BETRAYAL!' and begins the slow, difficult process of undoing the pointless damage Brexit has done to who-knows-how-many lives and livelihoods. Someone has to, for all our sakes – and soon. 18/18
4687658
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
So, we're done. The UK decided it didn't want us to contribute to the economy, or create jobs, or help to fund public services. No, it was more important to listen to @BritishBulldog756857's concerns about people speaking Polish on the bus. 17/18
263559
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Without the grifters, liars and racists who decided their bigotries were more important than a working economy, those firms might've had a chance. But the Brexit mob made their decision, and they made it for the rest of us. Now we're living in the world they made. 16/18
268484
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
But we're done. We did all we could, but reached the point, over Christmas, where we could see where things were going. One more hurdle would've shot us down with no time to do things right, pay our bills and exit without debt or guilt. We made our decision. Not everyone gets that option. 14/18
349217
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Public services are collapsing. Tax-paying businesses that could be funding those services are being left to crash and burn, because our leaders are too scared to hurt the delicate feelings of @BritishBulldog756857 on Twitter. It's ridiculous, horrifying and infuriating in equal measure. 13/18
3757101
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The last few years have been tough for us and countless other businesses like ours, but we've had to watch a succession of Tory leaders – and now Keir Starmer – ignore the daily harm caused by Brexit while they desperately courted the gullible idiots who voted for it. 12/18
157251
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
As business dwindled, we took more steps. Laying off staff was the most painful, but we also gave up warehouse space and trimmed our product line back to bare essentials. That bought us some time, but we were waiting for a miracle that never came – for politicians to start telling the truth. 11/18
3061339
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
And who can blame them? No matter how high the quality of our products or our customer service, we simply couldn't compete with businesses in the EU which could supply similar items without the Brexit-induced tangles of extra forms, extra expense and unpredictable customs costs and delays. 10/18
258531
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
And the worst was very, very bad indeed. First, lots of our UK customers shut up shop, unable to weather the triple storms of Brexit, Covid and the economic downturn. The ones who survived did so in considerably reduced circumstances. Meanwhile, our EU clients slowly began drifting away... 9/18
155429
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
We knew what was coming, so we took every step possible to prepare for it, professionally and personally. We cut back every bit of fat in the business (which meant reducing our contribution to the local economy), doubled our mortgage payments and prepared for the worst. 8/18
352926
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The truth being: If you make trade with the EU more costly and complex, customers in the EU will look closer to home for suppliers. 'It's just a bit of paperwork!' screeched the Brexit faithful, hands clasped over their ears to shut out the horrific reality for countless UK businesses. 7/18
365641
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The bold patriots of Brexit invariably responded to my long threads about the real-world impact of Brexit with zero curiosity, zero empathy, zero compassion. Abuse was the order of the day. They'd swallowed every lie fed to them and had no interest in listening to the truth. 6/18
278869
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
We both tried to use Twitter to sound the alarm, and quickly became very familiar with the standard Brexiter responses: 'You're scaremongering'. 'You're lying.' 'If your business can't survive Brexit, you must be shit at business.' 5/18
761542
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
My wife (one of the most deeply introverted people I know) was very active in raising awareness - appearing on TV, radio and newspapers to explain exactly how businesses like ours would be hit. 'I hated it, but I had to do it, to let people know what would happen,' she says. 4/18
264428
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
We sold fragrance oils and cosmetic chemicals to soapmakers and crafters, with two-thirds of our business being to customers in Europe. So we were canaries in the Brexit coalmine, and warned people well ahead of the vote what leaving the Single Market/Customs Union would mean for UK business. 3/18
164036
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
My wife started our business as a dining-room concern, soon graduating to a little room in a nearby industrial estate. Within a few years, it had expanded to the point where we employed a dozen people, had a yearly turnover of £1m and made large contributions to the local and national economy. 2/18
461039
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
This week, Brexit finally killed our family business. We cleared out our warehouse, handed back the keys, paid the final bills and said goodbye to our last employee. What was once a thriving firm died a slow, sad death, all thanks to Farage, Johnson and the gullible idiots they conned. 1/18
14436951750
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
You wouldn't know it from much of the coverage but Reform are now seven points lower in the polls, on average, than they were six months ago
12536119
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
How daft - and immoral - is this? "Sign up, or we'll punish patients by not training 1,000 new doctors."
000
Reposted by Venetia Caine
The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
I much prefer doing my research amidst the flickering lanterns of an old-fashioned library in Prague during a raging thunderstorm with the help of a library ghost, so no, I'm afraid I have no interest in "asking ChatGPT.”
9813135
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
So what if these young women did want to/were obliged to claim asylum here at the end of their studies? They would be an asset to the UK, if a tragic loss to their home countries. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘The UK is saying the same thing as the Taliban’: the women banned from studying in Britain
The Home Office has blocked new study visas for applicants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar and Cameroon. It means many women will miss out on life-changing opportunities – as five female academics ex...
000
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Buitengebieden @buitengebieden.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Please don’t stop.. 😊
111098127
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Hegseth's fragile masculinity has doomed the US inews.co.uk/opinion/hegs...
30824202
Reposted by Venetia Caine
Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
"In the last 24 hours both Farage and Badenoch have U-turned on their previous support for Britain joining Trump’s war, with both even daring to suggest that they had never really backed joining it in the first place." bylinetimes.com/2026/03/10/n...
bylinetimes.com
Nigel Farage's Humiliating Iran U-Turn Should Be a Lesson for Keir Starmer
By sticking to the correct and popular position on Donald Trump's Iran war, the Prime Minister has now forced his political opponents into an embarrassing reversal, argues Adam Bienkov
12426153
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Last few days before public consultation on the future of the BBC closes. dcms.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
dcms.eu.qualtrics.com
BBC Charter Review Public Consultation
The government is consulting the public to aid decision-making on the terms for the BBC Charter’s renewal and any changes needed to help the BBC to continue to serve the public.
000
Venetia Caine @venetiacaine.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
"The cuts have not been publicly revealed and are hidden amid a chronic lack of transparency in climate aid spending." As the article reveals, these cuts started in 2020 under the previous government. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries
Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reduced
000