Clare Short.
Photograph: Andy Butterton/PA
Clare Short's decision to resign the Labour whip has not perturbed chancellor Gordon Brown, who expects to lead the Labour party some time within the next 12 months.
He knows it's a vote of no confidence in Tony Blair's government, not the Labour party overall. And anyway, Short has already made clear she plans to go away completely at the next election. For some, it's a case of good riddance to a thorn in Mr Blair's side.
For others, it's a case of, "What took you so long, in light of your belated opposition to the war in Iraq?"
But it's been a while since anyone lost the whip of their own volition. Usually they experience the high drama and anti-hero credibility that comes with expulsion, as George Galloway can testify.
They kicked him out and he went out and got himself a whole new party. When Brian Sedgemore quit last year to defect to the Lib Dems after 27 years as a Labour MP, it was a one minute wonder.
As a former minister with a penchant for saying what she really thought, the Labour party simply wasn't prepared to give her the push she was probably hoping for to secure political martyrdom. "I never believed it would come to this," said Ms Short, standing in the rain today.
The Labour party probably did.
