Prime Minister Andy Burnham has responded to the US midterm election results, saying they represent an opportunity for world leaders to focus on the issues voters truly want resolved. His comments came after the Democrats took control of Congress and the House of Representatives.
Democrats regain Congress
The results mark a clear sign that US voters are turning away from the policies of Donald Trump, who Senator Jon Ossoff branded "a failed lame duck president." Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, a seat targeted by Republicans.
The Democrats also secured Senate seats in the former Republican strongholds of Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Iowa. They regained control of the House of Representatives, which they last held in 2023, after flipping seats in states including Kentucky, New Jersey, Indiana and North Carolina.
Focus on cost of living
Reacting to the results, Burnham said: "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."
He added: "That has been the issue that I have put front and centre in my first three months in Downing Street, and we've made moves. But I can't get people's cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved."
Burnham continued: "The conflict between 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. And certainly, in my calls with leaders, that is what I will be asking everybody to do."
De-escalation efforts
Asked whether he was worried about a possible escalation in the Middle East following the results, he said: "Well, 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."
The midterm elections were seen as a referendum on Trump. The Democratic victories are a major blow to him, having urged people to pretend he was on the voting slip. In response, Trump posted on Truth Social: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!"
Democrats needed a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate for a majority, and three in the 435-member House. The outcome will influence debate and party strategies ahead of the 2028 presidential race, though disputes over which messages to adopt are likely.
Ossoff told supporters: "In sweeping and decisive victories the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame duck president Donald J Trump. And if, at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our republic would survive, let tonight's results give you courage that the first light of dawn is on the horizon."
The scale of the Democratic victory reflects deep voter discontent over the cost of living, tariffs and high energy prices fuelled by the Iran war, which Trump launched with Israel earlier this year.
