UK prime minister says midterm results a call to ‘unite’ on battling cost of living

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, after Democrats’ sweeping election victories Tuesday, said the world now has an opportunity to come together to fight against affordability concerns.

“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 early Wednesday during an interview . “That has been the issue that I have put front and center in my first three months in Downing Street.”

Democrats secured control of both the House and the Senate for the next term, including flipping GOP-held seats in battleground states like Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa.

Recent polls show that the rising cost of living was a top concern for a lot of voters heading into Election Day. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 48 percent of voters ranked affordability as the most important factor in deciding their vote.

A Gallup survey , conducted last month, found nearly half of the respondents marked the economy as an extremely important factor before casting their ballots.

In his remarks, Burnham also noted that global leaders cannot truly address the issue “until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved.”

President Trump late Tuesday acknowledged that the war in Iran l ikely affected the outcome of the midterms.

In connection with the war, Americans have struggled with higher fuel prices . The national average price for a gallon of gas sits at $4.12 as of Wednesday morning, according to AAA . A year ago, the number stood at $3.05.

The British prime minister noted he is “working for de-escalation.”

“We want to see a resolution [and] the Strait of Hormuz fully open again,” he added later, referring to the key waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

Additionally, inflation saw an uptick in September with the annual rating hovering around 3.7 percent, according to the consumer price index . Democrats across the country campaigned on lowering costs.

“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,” Burnham said.