Burnham Urges Cost Focus After US Midterm Setback

A political setback for Donald Trump in the US midterm elections has opened space for governments to refocus on living costs and international de-escalation, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday from the Commonwealth leaders summit in Antigua.

According to the BBC, Burnham linked pressure on household budgets to the war involving Iran and to the conflict in Ukraine. He said his government could not fully reduce living-cost strains while those crises continued.

The BBC reported that Trump, reacting to heavy Republican losses, acknowledged that higher fuel prices tied to the Iran war had hurt his party. The result also leaves Congress under Democratic control, although Trump retains broad foreign-policy powers.

"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," Trump told Fox News.

Burnham used the US result to argue for a coordinated international push on economic pressures and conflict reduction. He said that would be his message in calls with other leaders.

"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, according to the BBC.

He framed that issue as central to his first months in Downing Street and tied domestic economic relief to foreign-policy developments.

"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," Burnham said.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Cabinet Office Minister Louise Haigh delivered the government's response in Burnham's absence. The Liberal Democrats pressed ministers to oppose any further US military escalation against Iran.

"The US are one of our most important allies and our priority absolutely is de-escalation," Haigh said.

Haigh also argued that the Iran war had worsened the strain on households and criticized domestic political support for entering the conflict.

"The honourable lady raises an incredibly important point about the Epstein files and everything that they revealed. She's absolutely right to highlight the importance always of challenging power and standing on behalf of vulnerable victims," Haigh said.

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats' deputy leader, said the US vote was a rejection of Trump's broader record. The Guardian reported that she also urged the UK to back any congressional investigations that may follow.

"The American people have also sent a message that they are sick of Trump's scandals, from his blatant corruption to his close friendship with Epstein and, most recently emerging from the Epstein files, an allegation of rape. Will the first secretary of state join me in saying that in this house we will not tolerate powerful men who abuse their position against women in this parliament or any other? And will the government commit to assisting any and all inquiries that the new Democratic Congress may launch?" Cooper said.

Separately at the Antigua summit, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Burnham was opening talks on a formal UK apology over slavery, while ruling out reparations, according to The Guardian.

"People have been honestly a bit bruised by the past, what happened in the past, the sense that we just really just wanted to sweep this issue under the carpet and not confront it. My sense is there's a bit of a sigh of relief that, OK … at least there's a sense of we've got a shared interest now in moving the Commonwealth on," Miliband said.

He contrasted Burnham's approach with Tony Blair's past wording and said the government was willing to discuss an apology without changing its position on compensation.

"He kind of expressed 'sorrow, but' and then said sorry, and then it was walked back by No 10," Miliband said.

"Broadly speaking, yes," Miliband said when asked whether a formal apology could be reached by the time the UK hosts the G20 leaders' summit in Manchester next November.

He said the government's position on reparations remained unchanged.

"No … For us, that's never been what it's about. And that's why it's been important that … I did have this conversation with our partners in advance. I said, 'Look, we are going to say we are willing to say that we're open to an apology, but we're not going to shift our position on reparations.'

It's not for us. It's not the right answer. It's not practical.

It's not feasible for us, but there are things we can work on co-operatively," Miliband said.