(3 May 2015)  Britain goes to the polls on Thursday as the electorate decides if Prime Minister David Cameron deserves a second mandate.  Cameron and his Conservative Party won the last election but required a coalition with Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats to form a government.  Most observers are predicting another "hung parliament" in which no single party has a majority of the 650 seats.   Recent polls show a virtual dead heat in popular support for the Conservatives and the Labour Party.  However, most seat projections gives the Tories a slim edge over Labour due to uneven vote distribution but not enough to form a government.  It therefore seems likely that the winner of this election will again require to form another alliance with a smaller party to reach the critical 326 seat threshold. 

The left-leaning Scottish National Party (SNP) would seem to be a natural ally of Labor while the Liberal Democrats are more closely aligned with the Conservatives.  The right-wing UKIP has significant popular support but little chance of winning many seats.  The outcome of the election may therefore have as much to do with the success of these smaller parties as what happens to the two major parties.

After examining the key horoscopes, it seems most likely that Cameron will be re-elected.  Cameron has a number of positive factors at the moment.  He just began his Sun dasha in April and his Sun is well-placed in the 1st house in Virgo conjunct benefic Venus.  It is aspected by onerous Saturn but the orb is very wide — more than twenty degrees.  Overall, his dashas are a plus, although it should be noted that they are rarely decisive factors. 

Cameron’s transits also look good.  Jupiter is transiting his 11th house of gains and is in wide conjunction with his natal Jupiter and Moon.  On the day of the election on 7 May, transiting Venus will be in his 10th house just a couple of degrees from his equal 10th house cusp and Midheaven.  This gap of a few degrees could prove helpful since it may take several days after the election for Cameron to cement an alliance partner.  Venus will be exactly conjunct those 10th house cusps on the following weekend. Transiting Rahu (North Node) is conjunct his Venus which is typical for situations with positive outcomes.  Saturn sits on his equal 3rd house cusp which could indicate some very intense efforts and struggles but Saturn tends to do well in the 3rd house.  It also is not closely aspecting any other planet in his chart.  So Cameron’s basic chart factors look good.  Some of the other factors I look at also seem positive.

By contrast, the horoscope of Labour leader Ed Miliband looks flat.  He is running the Mercury-Moon dasha.  Mercury is in the 9th house which is generally positive but not necessarily good for gaining political power.  The Moon is opposite Mercury in the 3rd house in Gemini.  This can symbolize strong and creative efforts to realize his goals but again, it is not a great influence for actually winning the election.  As an added burden, the Moon receives full strength Vedic aspects from Saturn and Rahu. So Miliband’s dashas are mixed at best and not really helpful for his chances. 

His transits looks negative.  The Moon’s Nodes, Rahu and Ketu, straddle his equal 6th and 12th house cusps.  This is often problematic as it means that suffering from conflict (6th house) and losses (12th house) are more likely at this time.  Jupiter is placed in the indifferent 4th house and does not form any close aspects that might be clearly beneficial.  Transiting Mars (2 Taurus) casts its 8th house aspect (i.e. quincunx) to Venus (1 Gemini) at the time of the election.  This is usually bad for happiness.  Transiting Mercury (13 Taurus) falls under the square aspect of his natal Mars (13 Aquarius).   Overall, Miliband’s transits look quite negative and suggest he will not win. 

The chart of LDP leader Nick Clegg looks mixed.  His dashas aren’t great as he is running Venus-Saturn.  Venus is fine in the 3rd house opposite Jupiter but Saturn isn’t doing him any favours in the 5th house in a close opposition with Uranus.  While it does receive a helpful aspect from Jupiter, the Uranus aspect is closer and more problematic.  Transiting Saturn (8 Scorpio) is closely conjunct his Moon (9 Scorpio) in the 1st house.  By itself, this isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker.  The difficulty for Clegg is that transiting Mars (2 Taurus) is opposite his Moon right now and hence it has to deal with both malefics Saturn and Mars in the aftermath of the election.  It’s definitely not a recipe for a positive surprise on election night. 

It could still mean that Clegg could enter into another alliance with Cameron, but it may be one where he has less influence.  On the plus side, transiting Rahu (15 Virgo) is exactly conjunct his equal 11th house cusp.  The 11th house represents gains and Rahu usually does quite well in that house.  As an added plus, Rahu is conjunct the unequal 10th house cusp, (Midheaven).  This is usually good for status-related situations. 

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon could play the role of king-maker in this election as both main parties will likely come up short of the 326 needed to win.  Her chart looks quite good.  In April, she began her Jupiter-Mars dasha.  Jupiter is well-placed in the 1st house although is suffers from aspects from Saturn, Rahu and Mars.  Mars is placed in the 10th house in Cancer.  Although it is said to be debilitated here, it gets a shot of energy from its conjunctions with Sun and Mercury, as well as the opposition aspect from its dispositor, the Moon.  On balance, her dashas are positive.

Her transit situation is also pretty good.  Jupiter is transiting her 10th house of status so that bodes well for boosting her public profile.  But the nodes (15 Virgo/15 Pisces) are very close to her 6/12 axis (13 Virgo/13 Pisces) so that could upset her plans to achieve her ultimate goal.  Of course, the added wrinkle here is that goals may lack a simple definition.  Presumably, the best case scenario for Sturgeon and the SNP would be an alliance with Labour.  But would an alliance with the Tories be much different as long as the SNP gets what it wants for Scotland?  However unlikely that may sound, it is something to consider. 

UKIP’s Nigel Farage is also likely to benefit in some way from this election as his chart is quite good.  UKIP is unlikely to play a key role in the formation of the next government as its support is not concentrated in enough constituencies to translate into many seats.  And yet, Farage’s UKIP could enhance its legitimacy through increased seat and popular vote totals.  Farage is more likely to do well since he is running the Rahu-Jupiter dasha now.  His Rahu is placed in the 11th house of gains while Jupiter is acceptably placed in the 9th house with Mercury.  It is also in a tight aspect with the Moon.  Transiting Jupiter is in a close aspect with his Sun, a classic signature for success.  Farage’s star is likely on the rise.

While I think the stars do favour the re-election of Cameron as PM, it is less clear how he gets there.  Clegg could assume a lesser role if the Conservative-LDP coalition is revived for another term.  Or somehow Sturgeon could prop up a Tory government.  We shall see.

Weekly Financial Forecast

Stocks were mostly lower last week on the rebounding price of oil and worries of a possible Greek default.  In New York, the Dow was down slightly closing at 18,024 while India’s Sensex lost 400 points and finished at 27,011.  The decline was in keeping with my expectations in last week’s stock market forecast as I thought the Saturn-Uranus aspect and Venus-Mars alignment would likely act as drags on collective sentiment. 

This week looks similarly unsettled.  Mars enters sidereal Taurus on Monday so that could raise anxiety levels and push stocks lower.  The Sun’s aspect with Jupiter on Monday might mitigate some of the negativity, however.  The second half of the week is more susceptible to declines as the Sun aligns with that ongoing Saturn-Uranus aspect.