The French are at it again. Paris, city of lights, lovers and now, apparently, temperance. A booze ban is in force as the heatwave that has gripped the continent shifts east. Temperatures in the capital hit 40C. Emergency services stretched. The decision to ban alcohol sales in public spaces was swift. It was decisive. It was the sort of thing that would cause a riot in Whitehall. But here, in the UK, we are looking at a different picture. Our summer has been, to put it mildly, temperate. Drizzly. Disappointing for many. But politically, it is a quiet triumph.
The narrative writes itself. The continent swelters, and we sit in relative comfort. No hosepipe bans here. No emergency Cobra meetings about heat-related deaths. The Prime Minister's team is breathing a quiet sigh of relief. For a government that has been battered by strikes, inflation and endless scandals, the weather is a rare friend. No one is photographing the PM fanning himself at a press conference. No one is asking about NHS preparedness for heatstroke. The crisis is elsewhere.
But it is not just the weather. The political calculus is changing. The French ban on alcohol is a symbolic gesture, but it speaks volumes. It shows a government willing to act, however symbolically, in a crisis. Here, there is no crisis to react to. That is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it avoids any potential policy failures. A curse because it denies the government an opportunity to look decisive. The opposition, Labour, has been quiet on the issue. They know better than to complain about good weather. But behind the scenes, they are sharpening their knives. They are waiting for the next crisis. And in politics, it is always just around the corner.
The heatwave is moving east now. Warsaw, Prague, even Berlin are bracing for record temperatures. The UK remains an island of green and rain. The Met Office says it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. The tourists may complain, but the politicians are smiling. For now. But as any lobby journalist will tell you, a government's luck can change as fast as the weather. The summer may be temperate, but the autumn will be stormy. The cabinet is restless. The backbenches are muttering. And the PM knows that a few weeks of mild weather does not erase months of poor polling. The alcohol ban in Paris is a footnote. The real story is the one brewing in Westminster. And as the temperature rises there, no amount of drizzle will cool it down.
So here is the bottom line. The UK has been spared a heatwave crisis. But that does not mean the government is safe. The weather is a distraction, a temporary reprieve. The real battles are being fought in committee rooms and constituency offices. The lobby is full of whispers about a potential leadership challenge, about a budget that is falling apart, about a party that is tired of winning. The heatwave will pass. The politics will not. And when the next crisis hits, the government will have to show it can do more than just enjoy the rain.
