英国首相宣布提前大选 或为脱欧扫清障碍.

　　就在英国紧锣密鼓地准备与欧盟展开脱欧谈判之际，英国政坛风云突起——首相特蕾莎•梅18日宣布将于6月8日提前举行大选，这一提议有待19日英国议会通过。梅政府任期原定2020年期满。此前不久，梅还一直宣称下次大选将在2020年举行。那么她为何突然改变态度?

　　UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to call a snap general election on 8 June.

　　英国首相特蕾莎•梅宣布计划于6月8日提前举行大选。

　　She said Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU rerendum.

　　她表示，英国脱欧公投后国家需要确定性、稳定性以及强有力的领导。

　　Explaining the decision, Mrs May said: "The country is coming together but Westminster is not."

　　梅对其决定解释道：“国家正在团结起来，但是议会并没有团结起来。”

　　Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the election, calling it a chance to get a government that puts "the majority first".

　　工党党魁杰里米•科尔宾称，工党希望进行选举，他称这是选择一个把“大多数人的利益放在首位”的政府的机会。

　　The prime minister will ruse to take part in televised leader debates ahead of the vote, Number 10 sources said.

　　政府知情人士称，梅在投票前将不会参加领导人电视辩论。

　　Mr Corbyn said Mrs May should not be "dodging" a head-to-head encounter.

　　科尔宾称，梅不应该对正面交锋“躲躲闪闪”。

　　There will be a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday to approve the election plan - the prime minister needs two thirds of MPs to vote in favour to bring forward the next scheduled election date of 2020.

　　下议院将在19日举行投票，批准选举计划。下届大选的原定日期为2020年，梅需要获得2/3议员的赞成票才能提前选举。

　　Explaining her change of heart on an early election, Mrs May said: "I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election."

　　梅改变主意决定提前选举，对此她解释道：“我已经断定，确保未来数年的稳定安全的唯一办法就是举行大选。”

　　She accused Britain's other political parties of "game playing", adding that this risks "our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country".

　　她指责英国其他政党在“玩政治游戏”，并称这将使英国“成功脱欧面临风险，还将给国家带来破坏性的动荡。”

　　"So we need a general election and we need one now. We have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and bore the detailed talks begin.

　　“所以，我们需要一场大选，而且现在就需要。因为这是我们当前的唯一机会，欧盟就其谈判立场达成一致，而进一步的细节谈判尚未开始。”

　　"I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. Since I became prime minister I've said there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and security for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions we must take."

　　“我最近不得已才作出这个决定。自从就任首相起我就说过：在2020年之前不应该举行任何大选。但现在我认为，确保未来稳定和安全的唯一方法就是举行这次选举，并在这个必要决定上寻求你们的支持。”

　　In a statement outside Number 10, Mrs May said Labour had threatened to vote against the final Brexit agreement and cited opposition to her plans from the Scottish National Party, the Lib Dems and "unelected" members of the House of Lords.

　　梅在唐宁街10号官邸外发表声明，称工党曾威胁要对英国脱欧的最终协议投反对票，她还列举了苏格兰民族党、自由民主党以及“未经选举产生的”其他上议院议员们对其脱欧计划的反对。

　　"If we don't hold a general election now, their political game-playing will continue and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled election," she said.

　　“如果我们不立刻进行大选，他们的政治游戏就会继续，在接下来的大选之前，与欧盟的谈判将进入最艰难的阶段。”

　　过去一世纪，英国更换了24位首相，其中有一半未经大选直接上任：

　　Senior government sources point to a specific factor that changed the prime minister's calculation on an early election.

　　政府高层消息人士指出，一个具体因素改变了梅的想法，让她决定提前选举。

　　The end of the likely tortuous Article 50 negotiations is a hard deadline set for March 2019.

　　退欧谈判可能很曲折，其截止日期设在2019年3月。

　　Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, that's when the Tories would be starting to prepare for a general election the following year, with what one cabinet minister described as certain "political needs".

　　根据《固定任期议会法案》，此时正是保守党开始为来年大选做准备的时候，一位内阁大臣将这些准备称为某些“政治需要”。

　　In other words, the government would be exposed to hardball from the EU because ministers would be desperate to avoid accepting anything that would be politically unpopular, or hold the Brexit process up, at the start of a crucial election cycle.

　　换言之，在至关重要的选举周期开始时，大臣们将竭力避免接受任何在政治上不受欢迎的事情，或者阻止退欧进程，因此欧盟将对英国政府采取强硬的态度。

　　Ministers say that's the central reason for May's change of heart because "if there was an election in three years, we'd be up against the clock".

　　大臣们认为，这是梅改变心意的核心原因，因为“如果在三年内举行大选的话，我们将面临时间的问题。”

　　Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the prime minister's decision, saying it would "give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first", saying that this would include dealing with "the crisis" in housing, education funding and the NHS and pushing for an "economy that works for all".

　　科尔宾对梅的决定表示欢迎，他称，这将“使英国人民有机会选出一个把多数人利益放在首位的政府。这些利益包括：应对住房、教育经费以及国民健康保险制度面临的“危机”，并推动“惠及所有人的经济政策”。

　　Asked if he will be the next prime minister, the Labour leader said: "If we win the election - yes - and I want to lead a government that will transform this country, give real hope to everybody and above all bring about a principle of justice for everybody and economic opportunities for everybody."

　　当被问及是否会成为下任首相时，科尔宾表示：“是的，如果我们赢得选举的话，我希望带领政府进行改革，给所有人真正的希望，尤其是实现公正原则，给所有英国人带来经济机会。”

　　Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be fighting the election "to win".

　　苏格兰首席大臣尼古拉•斯特金表示，她将争取在选举中“获胜”。

　　"I think the prime minister has called this election for selfish, narrow, party political interests, but she has called it and therore I relish the prospect of getting out to stand up for Scotland's interests and values, standing up for Scotland's voice being heard and standing against the ability of a right-wing Conservative Party to impose whatever policies it wants on Scotland."

　　“我认为首相举行这次选举是出于自私、狭隘的政治利益，但是她既然已经要求选举，那么我很期待站出来代表苏格兰的利益和价值，让苏格兰的声音被听到，反对右翼保守党将任何政策肆意强加于苏格兰。”

　　Mrs May spoke to the Queen on the phone on Easter Monday to let her know of the election plan, the prime minister's official spokesman said. She also got the full backing of the cabinet bore calling the election.

　　首相官方发言人称，梅在17日复活节与女王通话，告知其选举计划。她在要求举行选举之前已经获得内阁的全力支持。

　　Former prime minister David Cameron called Theresa May's decision to hold a snap general election "brave and right".

　　前首相大卫•卡梅伦称提前召开大选的决定是“勇敢而明智的”。

　　British business groups gave a mixed response to the prime minister's sudden call for a general election, as the pound jumped on the news and shares fell.

　　首相的意外之举导致英镑上涨、股市下跌，英国商界对此反响不一。

　　European Council President Donald Tusk's spokesman said the 27 other EU states would forge ahead with Brexit, saying the UK election would not change their plans.

　　欧盟委员会主席唐纳德•图斯克的发言人称，其他27个欧盟国家将推动英国脱欧，英国选举不会改变他们的计划。

　　He added: "We expect to have the Brexit guidelines adopted by the European Council on 29 April and following that the Brexit negotiating directives ready on 22 May. This will allow the EU27 to start negotiations."

　　他还称：“我们预计欧盟委员会将于4月29号通过英国脱欧指导方针，在5月22日出台英国脱欧谈判正式方针。欧盟27个成员国此后将可以启动谈判。”