Theresa May has shocked the country by going back on months of promises and calling for a general election as Britain heads into one of the most uncertain periods in its recent history.

因英国陷入了近代历史中最难以预料的一个时期，所以特丽莎·梅违背了几个月前的承诺，要求进行大选，震惊了整个国家。

Just after 11am on Tuesday she said: “I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on 8 June.”

星期二上午11点刚过，她就表示：“我刚刚主持了一次内阁会议，在会上我们同意政府应在6月8日进行大选。”

The Prime Minister stood at the steps of 10 Downing Street and said only an election would ensure both that her opponents cannot derail Brexit and that Britain’s position is strong in talks with the European Union.

这位首相站在唐宁街10号的阶梯上，指出只有大选才能确保她的反对者无法阻碍英国脱欧，确保英国与欧盟会谈中强有力的地位。

The Commons will vote on her plan on Wednesday, but polls already predict a substantial election victory for the Tories and a drubbing for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.

星期三下议院将对她的计划进行投票，不过民意测验已预测保守党将大获全胜，杰里米·科尔宾领导的工党将彻底失败。

But when she ran for Tory leader in June she said there would be no election until 2020.

然而在她6月份竞选保守党领袖的时候，她表示在2020年前不会进行大选。

Opponents branded the announcement a major U-turn and a political move which showed Ms May putting the interests of her party before the country.

反对者认为该声明是一次彻底转变，这一政治举措表明梅姨把党派利益置于国家利益之上。

However, Downing Street sources have said that Theresa May decided to call a snap general election because she feared Jeremy Corbyn was on the verge of resigning.

然而，英国政府的知情人士表示，特丽莎·梅决定提前进行大选是因为她担心杰里米·科尔宾即将辞职。

Rather than later risk facing Labour under a new and potentially more popular leader, the Prime Minister decided to call the impromptu vote.

与其以后面临由一位可能更受欢迎的新任领袖领导工党的风险，首相才决定召集此次临时投票。

So what could a new election actually mean for leaving the EU? Could an early election stop Brexit?

那么对于脱欧而言，如今新的大选意味着什么？提前大选会阻止英国脱欧吗？

This would be very unlikely. Labour and the Conservatives, the two largest parties, have both said they would enact the EU referendum result.

阻止英国脱欧的可能性很小。英国两个最大的党派工党和保守党都表示他们会执行欧盟公投的结果。

Labour has said it wants a different type of Brexit to the Conservatives, so if Labour wins then a “hard Brexit” could be off the table.

工党已表示希望以一种不同于保守党的方式脱欧，所以如果工党获胜，可能就不会实行“硬脱欧”政策。

Could the election make Theresa May stronger?

此次大选会让特丽莎·梅的影响力更大吗？

There are a number of ways the Prime Minister’s hand could be strengthened by an election – presuming she wins.

假如她赢了的话，通过这次大选，她可以用很多方式来巩固自己的地位。

By calling an election after she has outlined some of her Brexit vision the PM could claim that the public has backed not only her leadership, but what she’s said about Brexit so far.

在她概述了自己对英国脱欧的若干设想后，通过举行大选，这位首相可以称，民众不仅支持她的领导地位，还支持她迄今为止关于英国脱欧的主张。

（翻译：Dlacus）