近日，英国首相特蕾莎·梅突然宣布英国将在6月8号提前举行大选，改选英国下议院的全部议席。

实际上，英国大选五年一次，前一次是2015年，理论上下次大选应该是2020年。

她解释了提前举行英国大选原因，议会里总有各种势力反对设绊阻碍脱欧进程，这成了场权力的竞争，无奈只能重新大选洗牌，以确保“脱欧”顺利进行...

☟

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=e0394ochc4y&width=500&height=375&auto=0

给不方便看视频的童鞋

☟

Here is the Prime Minister's statement in full.

讲话全文如下：

I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8.

我刚刚主持了内阁会议，会上我们一致同意政府应该举行大选，时间定于6月8日。

I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election.

我想解释一下做出这个决定的原因，接下来会发生什么，以及英国人民在为这次大选投票时将面临的选择。

Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became Prime Minister the Government has delivered precisely that.

去年夏天，在公投离开欧盟后，英国需要确定性、稳定性和强大的领导力，自我担任首相以来，政府做到了这些。

Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.

尽管有预测称，英国很快将出现金融和经济危险，但自公投以来，我们看到了消费者的信心依然很高，就业率创新高，经济增长也超出了所有预期。

We have also delivered on the mandate[1] that we were handed by the referendum result.

我们也执行了公投结果交付我们的命令。

[1]mandate:the authority given to an elected group of people, such as a government, to perform an action or govern a country 授权；委任

At the forthcoming elections, the government will be seeking a fresh mandate from the people.

在即将到来的选举中，政府将向人民寻求新的支持。

Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back.

英国正在脱离欧盟，没有回头路可走。

And as we look to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.

当我们展望未来，政府有正确的计划，为我们与欧洲的新关系展开谈判。

We want a deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world.

欧盟是强大且成功的，而英国即将在世界上自由展开自己的道路，我们希望这两者之间建立深入而特殊的伙伴关系。

That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to strike[2] trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world.

这意味着我们将恢复对英国的财政、法律和边界的控制，我们将与全球各地的老朋友以及新伙伴自由地签订贸易协定。

[2]strike:to reach or make an agreement 达成，制定（协议）

Do you think the government should try to strike a deal with the terrorists?

你认为政府应该尝试与恐怖分子达成协议吗？

This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it.

这才是正确的方式，符合国家的利益，但是其他政党却在反对它。

At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.

在这个对国家来说意义重大的时刻，英国议会本应团结一致，可是如今却产生了分裂。

The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.

国家正在走向团结，但议会却不是。

In recent weeks Labour[工党] has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the European Union.

最近几周，工党一直威胁将会投票反对我们与欧盟达成的脱欧协议。

The Liberal Democrats[自由民主党] have said they want to grind the business of government to a standsill[3].

自由民主党也表示，他们希望政府的运作陷入停顿状态；

[3]grind to a halt/standstill [ɡraɪnd]

to stop slowly 慢慢停下来；逐渐陷入停顿

If we don't do something soon, the industry could grind to a halt (= stop operating).

如果我们不马上采取措施，工业可能会陷入瘫痪。

The Scottish National Party[苏格兰民族党] say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union.

苏格兰民族党表示，他们将投票反对政府立法正式废除英国作为欧盟成员国的地位。

And unelected members of the House of Lords[上议院] have vowed to fight us every step of the way.

那些非选举产生的上议院议员，也发誓要反对我们每一步的行动。

Our opponents believe that because the Government's majority is so small, our resolve[决心] will weaken and that they can force us to change course.

我们的政治对手认为，政府的多数席位优势并不明显，所以我们的决心会被削弱，他们可以迫使政府改变方向。

They are wrong.

他们错了。

They under-estimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.

他们低估了我们完成这项任务的决心，而且我决不会任由他们危及全国上下数百万工薪阶层的安全。

Because what they are doing jeopardises[4] the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government's negotiating position in Europe.

因为他们这种做法将损害我们必将完成的事业，不仅影响国内脱欧的准备，同时也将削弱我们政府与欧洲谈判的立场。

[4]jeopardise ['dʒepə(r)daɪz]

to put something such as a plan or system in danger of being harmed or damaged 使处于危险境地；危及，损害

She knew that by failing her finals she could jeopardize her whole future.

她知道考试不及格会影响自己的整个前程。

If we do not 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[(重要事情的)前期;准备阶段] to the next scheduled election.

如果现在不举行大选，他们玩的政治游戏仍将继续，那么我们与欧盟展开的脱欧谈判，将在原定的下一次大选拉开序幕前，进入到最困难的阶段。

Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country.

议会的这种分歧，将影响我们成功脱欧，这也会在国内引发不确定性和不稳定性，对国家不利。

So we need a general election and we need one now, because we have at this moment a one-off[一次性的;非经常的] chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.

因此，我们需要举行大选，而且现在就需要。因为我们只有一次机会，那就是现在——欧盟已明确了谈判立场，脱欧细节的探讨即将展开。

I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion.

直到近期，我才并不情愿地得出这一结论。

Since I became Prime Minister I have said that there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions I must take.

自从担任首相以来，我一直表示，2020年前不会提前举行大选。但是现在我已得出结论：为了确保英国未来几年的确定性和稳定性，唯一的方法就是举行这次选举，也恳请你们支持我必须作出的这个决定。

And so tomorrow I will move a motion[提出动议] in the House of Commons[下议院] calling for a general election to be held on the eighth of June.

所以明天，我会在下议院提起动议，呼吁在6月8日举行大选。

That motion, as set out by the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act[《固定任期制国会法》], will require a two-thirds majority of the House of Commons.

按照《固定任期制国会法》的规定，这个动议将需要下议院2/3的多数投票。

So I have a simple challenge to the opposition parties, you have criticised the Government's vision for Brexit, you have challenged our objectives, you have threatened to block the legislation we put before Parliament.

所以，我要向反对党提出一个简单的挑战。你们批评政府对脱欧的规划，你们挑战了我们的目标，威胁要阻止我们在议会提交的立法，

This is your moment to show you mean it, to show you are not opposing the Government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.

现在是时候展示你们是认真的了，展示你们不是为了反对政府而反对政府，展示你们没有把政治当游戏。

Let us tomorrow vote for an election, let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide.

明天，让我们对是否举行选举而投票，让我们各自提出脱欧计划，让我们各自提出对政府的替代方案，然后交由人民来决定。国家面临的决定将是关于领导层的。

And the decision facing the country will be all about leadership. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your Prime Minister, or weak and unstable coalition government[联合政府], led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up[5] by The Liberal Democrats[自由民主党] - who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum - and Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP[(Scottish National Party)苏格兰民族党].

这将是二选一的决定——是由我担任首相、强大稳定且符合国家利益的领导层；还是在杰里米·科尔宾带领下、拥有自由民主党、尼科拉·斯特金和苏格兰民族党支持的软弱且不稳定的联合政府，自由民主党还想要恢复公投造成的分裂。

[5]prop sth up

1）to lift and give support to something by putting something under it 支撑，撑住

He was sitting upright in his hospital bed, propped up by pillows.

他靠着枕头，直直地坐在医院的病床上。

2）to give support to something, especially a country or organization, so that it can continue to exist in a difficult situation 支持，维持

How long is the government likely to survive without the US military force there to prop it up?

没有美国的军事力量在那儿支撑着它，那个政府还能维持多久？

Every vote for the Conservatives[保守党] will make it harder for opposition politicians who want to stop me from getting the job done.

投给保守党的每一票，都将让那些想阻止我完成工作的反对党政客更加艰难；

Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain with the prime ministers, presidents and chancellors of the European Union.

投给保守党的每一票，都会使我与欧盟各国的首相、总统、总理在谈判时更加强大；

Every vote for the Conservatives means we can stick to our plan for a stronger Britain and take the right long-term decisions for a more secure future.

投给保守党每一票，都意味着我们可以坚持自己的计划，构建一个更强大的英国，并为了更有保障的未来，做出正确的长期决策。

It was with reluctance that I decided the country needs this election, but it is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.

做出英国需要提前大选这项决定，我虽不情愿，却能够非常坚定地宣布：这是必要的，要以此来保障国家所需的强大稳定的领导层，在脱欧进程中和脱欧后，带领英国渡过难关。

So, tomorrow, let the House of Commons vote for an election, let everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit and their programmes for Government, and let us remove the risk of uncertainty and instability and continue to give the country the strong and stable leadership it demands."

所以明天，让下议院对提前大选的动议进行投票，让所有议员都提出自己的脱欧议案和政府方案，让我们消除这些不确定性和不稳定性的风险，继续保障国家所需的强大而稳定的领导层。

英文来源：http://t.cn/RXiEtkU

中文翻译：@中国日报网双语新闻

仅供参考，链接：http://t.cn/RXiEOqW

戳下方“阅读原文”网易云音乐在线收听下载

荔枝FM同步上传（搜：英语学习君）

后台发送“英音”查看英音演讲合集