Part of me admires them. It takes courage to walk into a press conference and tell the world you are quitting your party.

Each of the 11 MPs joining the new breakaway Independent Group will have wrestled long and hard with their decision. No doubt there were plenty of sleepless nights and 4am conversations with their nearest and dearest around the kitchen table.

They will have known that they weren’t just sacrificing the comradeship and campaign support that comes from being part of a big party. They will be saying goodbye to a number of friendships, too, all in pursuit of what they believe to be right.

Just look at some of the animus aimed at the Labour defectors from their former colleagues. Even on the Conservative side, where all sorts of nice things are being uttered about how the defectors might return to the fold, that’s not how politics works. Things will be said during future campaigns and question-times that cannot be unsaid. From here on, bridges only get burnt.

With no going back, The Independent Group (TIG) will need to throw in everything they have if they want to be in public life after the next election. This week was the easy part.

Fortunately for TIG, several things are in their favour. For a start, House of Commons arithmetic means that even though TIG has less than 2 per cent of the votes, they could have an impact out of all proportion to their size. They will benefit from intense media coverage, with the prejudices of Westminster journalists meaning that much of it will be in their favour.