Overview and review of the UK election

The wait is finally over. The British public has decided, at least as to which party will lead the nation over the next years. And as predicted, there was an upset. But, the Tories won? How is that an upset? It was predicted by pundits from the outset they would win by a large enough margin to be able to push Brexit through by the end of January. Now, they may well get their wish. It was an upset because there were also many pundits, polls and insiders saying the election was too close to call and that there would be a hung Parliament. There were astrological precedents for the latter, but there were also wild cards. My prediction of a hung Parliament was based in those precedents. It was also an upset for progressives and remainers who had hoped for a hung Parliament, or even a long shot win by Corbyn. The latter was never in the cards or the stars. To see what happened, read on.

To start, here are the numbers as they stand: The Tories gained 66 seats. Labour lost 42 seats, largely from its heartland voter base. That makes a clear statement. More on that later. The SNP gained 13 seats, which also makes a statement. More on that later as well. All the other parties lost, except the Greens, who maintained their one seat.

At the start of the campaign last month the pundits were giving Boris Johnson a very comfortable victory. Two weeks ago they were giving him a margin of 68 seats, more than enough to push Brexit, along with many other measures if the Tories desired, through Parliament. They were too optimistic by 30 seats, but the victory was still a big enough majority. Over those two weeks, that lead was cut in half. That was not a good trajectory, but is also not unheard of.

Two days out from the election the lead was set to be 339 seats out of 650 in Parliament, with Labour at 231, the SNP at 41 and the Liberal Democrats at 15. 339 seats is a 52% majority. It is not a big margin of error, especially if there are defectors in crucial votes, as there were in recent Parliamentary votes. As of now, though, Labour has suffered its worst defeat since 1935. If that rings an astrological bell, it should – it is a Uranus cycle of 84 years. That was also at the height of the Great Depression. There are precedents there, too.

What happened, then? What was in the astrology that would account for such a dip in the lead the Tories had, and then to the landslide win? The answer lies with Saturn and Uranus. The UK chart with transits is below (bigger):

We note that on election day transiting Saturn was within a degree of the exact opposition with the UK Moon. The Moon in the UK chart rules the sitting government, and it is in the 10^th house. When no birth time is known, then the Moon represents the general public, because we do not know the angles. But when the angles are known, as in the case of the UK, then no matter which planet rules the 10^th house, it becomes a very important factor in determining the general trends of government in a nation. With Saturn opposing the ruler of the 10^th house, this election did not look good for the Tories. But, there is another story to that Moon as well.

In reality, both readings of the Moon in the case of the UK have to be taken into account, meaning the Moon read as the general public and the Moon read as the ruler of the 10^th house and thus the style of government. This has a special meaning for the UK especially, and it was stated in 1949 by Alice Bailey, speaking of the ideologies working out in various nations:

There is again the ideology of Socialism which is regarded [Page 747] by some as a basic evil.  Socialism can degenerate into another form of totalitarianism, or it can be more democratic than the present expressions of Democracy.  These issues will emerge clearly in Great Britain, where the socialist point of view is gaining ground among the masses, [re: post WWII Britain] but which at present is a mixture of nationalisation of the public utilities and of free enterprise—a combination which may have true value, if preserved. (The Rays and the Initiations, p. 747)

It was stated in another section of the same work (pg. 634):

In Great Britain, the problem of socialism is being resolved and the sound judgment of the people will eventually balance the two conditions of a socialist programme and free enterprise; this needs doing, for the extreme position in either case is untenable.  This today presents a conflict which all the world is watching… The bridge will be built.

What we have in the UK now is an extreme of capitalism, and this has been on the ascent since the days of Thatcher. Labour began to lose ground at that point, with only Tony Blair winning an election for Labour since then, and then only by adopting parts of Thatcherite policy. So, what do we really see here, and why have the Tories romped it in? There were several factors, which should serve as billboard-sized signs for the coming US elections:

• There was a strong sense of nationalism, with a large enough sector of the populace wanting to leave the EU. The people were tired of all the Brexit strife.
• The media in the UK is conservative, by and large, and they ran a massive disinformation and smear campaign leading up to the vote. Social media played a big role, too.
• Labour made serious blunders in its campaign and Corbyn was seen as the wrong person to lead the party, by many within his own party. Actually, there is quite a bit of vitriol towards Corbyn, and this was perhaps the single biggest factor that swung the election to Boris Johnson. People actually voted for Johnson because they did not want Corbyn to win. This was very similar to what we saw in the US 2016 election with Hillary Clinton.
• There was foreign interference (Israel and the US) and big money behind the Tory win. Campaign financing is a strong indicator as to who will win elections. The Tories have big pockets and big backers. They also know how to effectively use social media.
• When times are uncertain, as they are now, people will vote for what they know instead of taking a chance on change. Australians had recent experience with this. Conservatives typically run campaigns on financial stability. ‘Socialism’ is always trotted out as a great evil. I see this even now, speaking of the US elections. It is a dog-whistle issue.

The Tory win in the election came down to a vote against Corbyn, not for what he stood for, but because he was viewed as a weak leader, as a traitor against Brexit, and because of his own ego. It split the Labour party. The same was true of Jo Swinson of the Lib Dems, who has since quit.

This election should have been about balancing the two systems of capitalism and socialism, when we get down to brass tacks. Instead, it came down to people focusing on personalities instead of policy. Brexit will now be seen as a done deal. However, this ignores the 5 million signatures on the revoke Art. 50 petition, the hundreds of thousands marching against Brexit and so forth. It also ignores the fact that polls show the nation is still split around Brexit, with a 5% lean toward remain. If accurate, Brexit is not the will of the people. The opposition parties handed the election to Johnson through their infighting.

Thatcherism/neoliberalism is ruining the UK. The people know it. The Tories represent that, but Labour has taken on its share of it, too. Jeremy Corbyn, much as many people loathe the man, represents the step back toward more socialist policy, which would serve to balance the play between the capitalism and nationalism in the UK we see now, and the socialism of the past.

Not having lived in the UK and from what I hear, however, the socialism of the past was not run that well, either. But the pendulum is swinging back toward socialism, regardless of the Tory win. The people want their NHS, railroads and like national infrastructure renationalized, with British sovereignty over those assets returned. The gist of this is that the UK, at some point, must balance those two systems – socialism and capitalism – which is a good example of what the Gemini soul of that nation seeks to express. Then the UK will thrive. There are further arguments we could parse here, which I have covered in my monthly letters, but we will have to leave that discussion here. This digression was necessary, though, which brings us back to the transiting Saturn across from the UK Moon.

There is a precedent with that transit, which further led to the conclusion that this election would at least lead to a hung Parliament, if not an outright loss by the Tories. It was clear from the start that Corbyn did not have the numbers to win the election. That transit happened once before this year – at the end of March. What happened then is the Tories suffered one of their most resounding Parliamentary defeats. On 27 March, MPs backed the statutory instrument changing the Brexit date in the EU Withdrawal Act by 441 votes to 105, a majority of 336. Saturn was at one minute of arc past the opposition to the UK Moon. That brings us to yesterday, election day.

At noon on election day, the transiting Moon made a sextile to Saturn, the latter ruling the opposition parties. In one sense that would have represented a surge in the vote for the opposition. However, the Saturn rulership of the 4^th house shows the UK to be largely conservative-leaning in its outlook. People voted for what they saw as stability instead of what many called ‘radical change’.

Then, there was another factor, a wild card in the vote, and that was the youth voters. We recall that Parliament voted down a bill which would have allowed 16 year-olds to vote in general elections. That would have garnered enough support for the Remain side to tip the elections. Hence, it was voted down. But on election day, Uranus made a retrograde transit to the UK Mercury via sesquisquare. Any hard aspect between Uranus and Mercury spells rebellion and protests in a national chart. It would be my suspicion that the youth were energized and helped to tip the vote.

Mercury in the UK chart rules the 9^th house (overseas trade) and the 12^th house (plebiscites in general as well as sabotage within the state, institutions and secret initiatives). But there was an interesting incidence with this election. Following on from the last article, we find that the Mars/Sat midpoint was on the UK Mercury, with the Uranus sesquisquare by transit activating it:

Mer=Mars/Sat: Thoughtlessness, hopelessness. – Thoughts on separation, illness, death or the next world beyond. – News of mourning and bereavement

Neptune has been squaring the UK Mercury by transit, with Mercury also ruling the media in general. That combination of influences spelled bad news, for someone. The ‘grievous loss’ indicated in the last article applied here, too. Progressives are seeing this election as a grievous loss, while conservatives celebrate. Uranus also made another transit that is noteworthy, which was a square to the UK Jupiter, ruling the press. It also rules social media, pointing to the successful use of the media in the election. The media was excoriating against Corbyn.

There is a message there for Bernie supporters in the US, with the media rollout against him and his sidelining by the media already in effect, with the dog-whistle warnings against the ‘evils of socialism’ and so forth. The takeaway, as unpalatable as it will be to more progressive readers, is that we will likely see a similar result in the 2020 election in the US to what we just saw in the UK. Idealism does not win elections.

Regarding the media spin and disinformation, there is this from the US:

“Why should the U.S. care about the U.K.’s general election?

Answer: because three years after a Brexit referendum campaign bursting with half-truths, exaggeration and just outright lies, it seems the U.K. has not learned its lesson…The parallels for what may be to come in next year’s U.S. elections are startling. Both in the United States and here in the U.K., the focus has been on possible foreign interference. (Unlike the U.S. though, the British government has yet to publish a report on Russia’s role in the Brexit debate).

But another threat looms just as large — what were once the tactics of anonymous trolls in the darkest recesses of the internet have become the accepted tools of apparently respectable political parties in the U.K. Spin has long been a part of political campaigning. One group makes an assertion, which the other tries to undermine with its own facts and figures. That is nothing new. But what we’ve seen in the U.K. goes beyond that in scope and immediacy.”

When we consider that there will be an eclipse on the UK Moon, activating yet another that took place there last year, and then the Saturn/Pluto conjunction activating it in mid-January, that will probably indicate Brexit. It can indicate other things too, like a Scottish referendum, for instance. As to what form Brexit will take, that is still up for grabs, but indications are they will push for a hard Brexit.

There is one last consideration with the chart, and that is the Ceres conjunction on the 4^th house cusp, indicating a turning point for the opposition. That is certainly on the cards now. Both the Lib Dems and Labour need to re-think their leadership, their approach and their policy, and most of all, to reconnect with their voter base.

The worst part of this for the UK has been the focus on personalities instead of getting to the truth and the major issues facing the nation. It will be the same for the US in 2020. The main issue for the UK is not the EU, nor Jeremy Corbyn. It is instead the domestic policies that have steadily eroded the public good, and this has been engaged by all the major parties. That erosion has gone on by stealth and steadily over several decades, especially since the ‘90s. The public is slowly waking up to it. They see their general welfare slipping and what we otherwise call ‘a race to the bottom’.

What this election will likely do is to prove as a wakeup call to those issues relating to the public welfare, as Tory policy has enabled that race to the bottom to a large extent. Labour needs to go on retreat and re-examine itself, as do the Lib Dems. The Scots are now looking askance at what has taken place. The Irish are about to face problems as well once the border question comes to the fore, especially if there is a hard Brexit. The UK itself may be facing fundamental changes.

And the Tories? They will have to wear the growing ire of the public over the next five years if they continue their present course. This is a fight that is far from over. It has only entered a new phase. And for the public? It is time to move on. We could micro-analyze this ad nauseum, but what would be the point? Everyone is going to have to adjust.

2020 is going to be a tough year. A perfect storm is being put in place. I’ll have more about that in the Chinese New Year letter in the first of the year. But it will be a year where very important decisions will have to be made and followed through. It will not be easy, and it will be better handled united rather than by fighting amongst ourselves. I say that for every nation, as every nation will be affected. The soul of the British nation is good and true. That doesn’t mean mistakes are not made, but mistakes, if rightly handled, lead to greater wisdom.

Let wisdom prevail on the British Isles. To my progressive friends, take heart. Sometimes the hard road leads to the quickest and surest way forward. For my conservative friends, gloating is not a good look, and the future is always in motion. The PM is not a reliable character, as his past has shown, and promises of a great future are often empty. Balance on both sides is in order.

Featured pic from PA Media via dpa-infocom.