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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the Democrats' victories in the United States midterm elections give the world an opportunity to come together around the cost of living, and to push for an end to the war involving Iran. He was speaking to reporters on Wednesday, November 4, as he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua.
"President Trump has accepted the results, and I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that's the cost of living," Burnham said. "But I can't get people's cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved. The conflict in Ukraine started by Russia."
"These are the things we have to focus on now, and I hope the world has a moment to do that," he said. "I think people want to see the world coming together and focusing on the things that matter to people, and that's what the voters, in my view, are saying in the United States. Let's get focused in a laser-like way on those cost of living issues."
Burnham said the UK Government would be pushing for de-escalation in the Iran conflict. "I'll be working for de-escalation to make it very clear. You know, we want to see a resolution, the Strait of Hormuz fully opened again. That's what we will be working towards," he said.
The Democrats took control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the November 3 midterm elections, winning Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Iowa, in results widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.
Responding to the results, President Trump acknowledged that rising fuel prices caused by the Iran war had played a part in his party's defeats. Speaking to Fox News, he said: "People agree with what I'm doing on Iran but they really probably weren't willing to do the short term consequences of paying more for gasoline - I understand that."
Although the US Congress, now controlled by the Democrats, can restrict funding, the president still retains significant authority over foreign policy, and indirect talks between the United States and Iran have been stalled for months.