Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, cheerfully remarked the UK had been teetering on the edge of going bust in March; and sent out a warning shot that the bank shouldn’t be seen as the government’s money-tree or cashpoint-in-the-sky ad infinitum. Though whether he’ll win that point is moot.
Jeremy Warner remarks in the Telegraph: “So-called “monetary financing” of government deficits has always been a taboo among central bankers, and with good reason. From Weimar to Zimbabwe and more latterly Venezuela, hyperinflations nearly all have their genesis in an overactive central bank printing press at the beck and call of populist politicians.”
There have already been murmurs of No 10 trying to shift some blame for the general mayhem onto Chancellor Rishi Sunak, which would open up the traditional rift between the Treasury and the Prime Minister.
But the allegedly independent Bank of England really is the backstop. Andrew Bailey, 30 March 1959, is a lively Sun Mercury in Aries trine Uranus in Leo and trine Jupiter in Sagittarius; with a steadier Saturn in Capricorn trine Pluto, sextile Neptune; and a pushily-confident Jupiter square Pluto. He was looking jammed-up in March with a seriously stuck tr Saturn opposition his Mars/Pluto midpoint, which repeats late this July and late November/early December. Those phases also show up sharply on Bailey’s relationship chart with Sunak as key aggravation points.
Bailey looks to be sagging at the moment with tr Neptune square his Sun/Pluto midpoint with more career-loss influences in September, and another run of the same February 2021 on and off to January 2022. The economically-challenging tr Uranus in Taurus square tr Saturn in Aquarius from spring of 2021 on and off throughout the year will hit him badly as it impacts on his financial Venus. From June 2021 as well tr Neptune squares his Mars in Gemini bringing a sense of panicky failure running through till late 2022; and before then the December 2020 Sagittarius Eclipse will oppose his Mars for a major argument.
Not the easiest of times to take over the hot seat. And his relationships with both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are both inherently at cross purposes to start with. With Boris there’s an exasperated composite Mars trine Saturn square Pluto and a suspicious Neptune square Saturn. With Rishi there’s an argumentative, ego-clashing composite Sun Mercury square Mars.
On the UK chart, March just passed saw the start of transiting Uranus moving definitely forward through the 8th house of joint finances where it will stay until 2027, bouncing in a series of uncomfortable jolting hard aspects to the UK’s financial planets – Mars in the 8th, Venus in the speculative 5th, and Neptune in the 2nd.
Rishi Sunak, 12 May 1980, a stalwart Taurus, is also looking angst-ridden and fearing the worst with tr Neptune opposition his Saturn now and on and off till late 2021; with a peculiarly upsetting patch across the New Year through January. His relationship with Boris is understandably edgy; with differences of opinion now as the present two Lunar Eclipses and the Solar Eclipse catch several of the planets in their relationship chart; and if anything there’ll be more upsets from December on with the Solar Eclipse being opposition Sunak’s Venus in Gemini and Boris’s Sun Venus and their composite Venus.
Not sure any of them would have signed up for this had they known then what we know now.
A great read, thank you!
Marjorie, re your comment on Andrew Bailey of Bank of England, Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson, “Not sure any of them would have signed up for this had they known then what we know now”, I quite agree. With the Saturn/Pluto at play in Capricorn, surely the Fates have stepped in.
Boris Johnson et al got the result his party pursued for years: Brexit “done”, the British health and social systems pared to the bone in the name of “a smaller state”, leaving swathes of the population low paid and insecure with no resources to fall back on, then the bonus of a big election majority. Over this time the Bank of England concerned itself politely with tweaking “the economy”, which Sunak admitted last week on TV is very dependent on consumer spending if it is to recover.
The lockdown the government was forced into in March put a spanner in the works. As John Michel wrote, “We have abolished the Gods yet we cannot explain their continued activity”.
Thank you Marjorie, well worth asking about and reading your commentary as usual!
Thanks Marjorie. 2021, unsurprisingly, is looking very difficult. I suppose Brexit factors in somewhere, adding even more pressure – plus the distinct possibility of a second wave of the virus in the autumn. And world-wide disruption to markets and finances – hard to see what might happen with any forthcoming trade deals with China, for example. The December 2020 eclipse in Sagittarius conjunct Rishi’s Neptune and opposite Andrew Bailey’s Mars looks pivotal, with Neptune and Mars aspecting it, and Mars coming up to square Pluto…..
I’m sure people are casting about, looking for scapegoats too, as you say. But really, it is quite obvious to most of us where the blame for a very late lockdown and assorted chaotic decisions lies……