内容摘要: 英国首相戈登·布朗(Gordon Brown)周二宣布在5月6日举行大选,请求选民赋予工党“明确、直接的授权”,延续该党13年的执政期,“确保经济复苏”。布朗发表声明之前,保守党领袖大卫·卡梅伦(David Cameron)对聚集在泰晤士河畔的支持者们说,这次选举是“对整整一代人最重要的一次”。
Gordon Brown on Tuesday called an election for May 6, asking the British electorate for a “clear and straightforward mandate” to extend 13 years of Labour rule and “secure the recovery”.
英国首相戈登・布朗(Gordon Brown)周二宣布在5月6日举行大选,请求选民赋予工党“明确、直接的授权”,延续该党13年的执政期,“确保经济复苏”。
Flanked by his cabinet outside Downing Street, the prime minister opened a campaign that gives him four weeks to overturn a clear Conservative advantage in the opinion polls to gain his first electoral mandate as leader. “Now all of us, let's go to it,” he said.
布朗率领他的内阁成员在唐宁街首相府外正式启动竞选活动,他将有四个星期的时间逆转保守党在民意调查中的明显优势,在大选中首次为自己赢得首相任期。“现在,让我们开始吧,”他说。
The prime minister had earlier travelled the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace, following a cabinet meeting, to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament a week on Tuesday.
早些时候布朗曾召集一次内阁会议,随后他从唐宁街出发前往白金汉宫,请女王下令解散议会。
His official announcement that the election will be held to coincide with local elections on May 6 kick-starts an intense campaign by all three main parties, vying to win a majority of the 650 seats contested.
他正式宣布,大选将与地方选举在5月6日同时举行,从而启动了一场激烈的竞选运动,英国三大主要政党将围绕650个席位争夺多数党地位。
Mr Brown said he would “fight for fairness” through the campaign, saying the country faced a “big decision” between keeping the “economy moving forward” or the threat of a “double-dip recession”.
布朗表示,他将通过竞选“为公平而战”,称英国面临一项“重大抉择”:保持“经济向前发展”或面对“二次衰退的威胁”。
Before Mr Brown had made the announcement, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, told supporters gathered by the Thames that the election was “the most important for a generation”.
布朗发表声明之前,保守党领袖大卫・卡梅伦(David Cameron)对聚集在泰晤士河畔的支持者们说,这次选举是“对整整一代人最重要的一次”。
“It comes down to this. You don't have to put up with another five years of Gordon Brown ... if you vote Conservative you are voting for hope, optimism and change.”
“归根到底,您不必再忍受布朗五年了……投票给保守党,就是投票给希望、乐观和变革。”
Mr Cameron's party needs to break out of its southern heartlands to win at least 117 seats – its biggest total since the second world war – to secure a working majority.
保守党需要在英国南部的票仓以外地区赢得至少117个座位,才能获得有效的多数地位——这一数字将是二战以来该党面临的最高门槛。