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。