The surprise announcement of a General Election in just seven weeks time will certainly put the past year’s arguments over Brexit into focus.

Ever since the incumbent MPs for St Albans and Harpenden stood up to be counted in favour of the UK leaving the European Union, they have faced a backlash from those constituents who voted in favour of Remain.

Petitions calling for their resignations were dismissed out of hand, and it’s fair to say that most people probably assumed that was that until 2020.

But now the Prime Minister has thrust the debate back into the political spotlight, and the district’s electorate has an unexpected opportunity to have a final say on the issue.

The lessons of the referendum, which saw misinformed and reactionary voting by certain sections of the population, need not be repeated on June 8.

In many ways, this is a chance to do it right, instead of following emotional and scaremongering rhetoric from either sides of the Europe campaign.

The aftermath of the General Election might not change the result of the referendum, but it will have a decisive role in determining what sort of future role we share alongside our European neighbours.

There’s no excuse this time for not checking the facts, or for blindly following a political party or candidate just because that’s what you’ve always done.

If we are to come out of this election as a stronger and more united nation, then it will be as a result of an unprecedented turnout on June 8, and a mandate for whatever party seizes power to set the course of our political and economic future for decades to come. Make sure you register!