Burnham says Trump has accepted US midterm results

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that President Donald Trump has accepted the results of the American midterm elections, according to the BBC.

The midterms chose members of the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Democrats won majorities in both, according to Reuters. Before the result was known, Trump had asked voters to treat the contest as though he were on the ballot, Reuters reported. Trump said Democrats had done a good job.

Mr Burnham said the world now has an opportunity to focus on ending the Iran war. He said US voters want to see the world focus on cost-of-living issues, which he described as affecting everyone. He also said the world could unite around that shared concern.

He told the BBC that cost-of-living pressures cannot be eased until the Middle East conflict and the war in Ukraine, which Russia started, are resolved.

Mr Burnham has had a handful of phone calls with Mr Trump and one face-to-face meeting. That meeting took place at the United Nations in New York in September.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who leads the Foreign Office, gave a BBC Newscast interview before the American votes were counted. He discussed the Iran war and the cost of living. He met the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in Atlanta last week.

Mr Miliband said the Strait of Hormuz is not exactly closed, but is not properly open or free-flowing, and that this is hitting families at home.

Mr Burnham was confirmed as the new Labour leader in July. He plans to fight the next general election on a pledge to change the voting system.