Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the world has an “opportunity” to focus on ending the Iran war and easing the cost of living following the US midterm elections, in which Donald Trump’s Republican Party suffered a series of crushing defeats.
Speaking as he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua, Mr Burnham said resolving the Middle East conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz were essential to bringing down living costs.
Midterm results and voter message
The Republicans were stripped of control of the Senate and House of Representatives following a string of historic defeats. The Democrats won Senate seats in the former Republican strongholds of Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Iowa.
They also flipped numerous seats in states including Kentucky, New Jersey, Indiana and North Carolina to regain control of the House for the first time since 2023.
The midterms were seen as a referendum on Mr Trump, with the scale of the Democrat victory reflecting deep voter discontent over the cost of living, tariffs and high energy prices fuelled by the Iran war he launched with Israel earlier this year.
Burnham urges global unity
Mr Burnham urged world leaders to seize the opportunity presented by the results. Asked for his reaction and whether the blow to Mr Trump could make him more unpredictable, Mr Burnham told reporters: “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.
“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. 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. And certainly, in my calls with leaders, that is what I will be asking everybody to do.”
The Labour leader declined to say whether he viewed the midterms as part of a wider decline of the popular right globally, following elections in Brazil, Serbia and Hungary.
De-escalation and new approach
Asked whether he thought the results were part of a global pattern, the Prime Minister 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. And I think around the world there’s a recognition that countries can’t do that on their own, and can’t do that when we have division between nations.
“I’ve been working hard as Prime Minister to bring a new approach, a new approach in the Middle East, and the Foreign Secretary set that out.
“A new approach to Europe, and we believe that will help us get growth back up and reduce those cost of living pressures. But a new approach with the Commonwealth too.”
The Prime Minister also said the UK Government would be pushing for a calming of tensions when asked whether he feared the Iran conflict could spiral.
“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.”
Mr Trump, who has now been branded a “failed lame duck president,” had previously urged people to pretend he was on the voting slip. In the face of the crushing losses, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
The Republican president admitted the results had surprised him. “I thought they’d do better, we had tremendous rallies,” he told Fox News.
With the Democrats in the driving seat on Capitol Hill, Mr Trump faces having his domestic agenda frustrated as well as the threat of investigations into the conduct of his administration. However, the president still has executive authority in key areas, including foreign policy.
