Andy Burnham has said the results of the US midterm elections present "an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that's the cost of living."
Speaking to broadcasters from the Commonwealth leaders summit, the prime minister promised to push for a resolution to the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in the wake of the elections, which saw Donald Trump's Republicans suffer heavy losses.
Burnham said he could not ease cost of living pressures until the conflict involving Iran had been resolved.
Responding to the midterm results, the US president acknowledged that rising fuel prices, which he linked to the Iran conflict, had played a part in his party's defeats.
Speaking to a broadcaster, President Trump said: "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."
Burnham said voters in the United States had signalled they wanted to "see the world coming together and focusing on the things that matter to people."
Asked whether the results might make the US president more unpredictable, 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.
"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 subject of the US midterm elections was also raised at Prime Minister's Questions, which, in Burnham's absence, was taken by Cabinet Office Minister Louise Haigh.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said American voters had rejected Trump's "warmongering and the economic chaos that it has caused." She expressed concern that the US president was planning further strikes on Iran and urged the government to "stand together with our reliable allies and send a clear message to Trump and Netanyahu: there must be no more strikes."
Haigh replied: "The US are one of our most important allies and our priority absolutely is de-escalation."
She said the Iran conflict had been "catastrophic for the cost of living crisis" and said the Conservatives and Reform should "consider very carefully their judgment in calling for us to jump so readily into it."
Asked about the possibility of an attack on Iran in the coming week, Trump told a financial publication on Tuesday that the US was "locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no need for it."
Indirect talks between the two sides have been stalled for months. Some analysts close to the Iranian government have suggested prolonging negotiations in the hope that rising fuel costs would damage Trump electorally.
Although the US Congress, now controlled by the Democrats, can restrict funding, Trump retains significant authority over foreign policy.
Burnham is preparing a ten-year plan for government and will be hoping his strategy is not disrupted by the actions of the US president in his remaining time in office.
