There has been a certain inevitability about Wayne Furbert's departure from the party he once led.

Having been toppled as leader of the United Bermuda Party about a year before the last general election, to seeing his majority in Hamilton West reduced in the general election, to leading the calls for internal reform which he may feel went unheeded, he has clearly become more and more frustrated.

More recently, his ill-advised criticism of the selection of Charlie Swan and a failed attempt to remove him from the UBP whip clearly brought him and the party to a crossroads.

So Mr. Furbert, who has been an MP, party chairman and stalwart of the UBP for decades, is now an Independent and, it would appear, there is no turning back for him. What does this mean for the UBP? The obvious effect is that it will reduce its share of MPs by one, and throws prospects for holding Hamilton West, which Mr. Furbert won twice under the single seat system, up in the air in a future election.

For the rest of this Parliamentary term, it means that the UBP will have to worry about him throwing darts its way in the House of Assembly, distracting its focus from the government.

And as with former MP Jamahl Simmons, who ironically left the party in part because of dissatisfaction with Mr. Furbert's leadership, it means that there will be a prominent ex-UBP official with intimate knowledge of the party's inner workings and an axe to grind who will now be quite happy to air the party's dirty laundry.

One difficulty with Mr. Furbert's criticisms of the UBP as it stands is that he never really articulated a different, and winning, vision for the party. Aside from a feeling that it should be less combative and should collaborate more with the Progressive Labour Party, it was never entirely clear how he felt the UBP should change, only that it could not win a general election as it is presently constituted.

To be fair, others in the UBP have not articulated a new vision for the party either, at least up until now, but there does seem to be a slow and steady debate on the issue.

This newspaper said after the last General Election that the UBP has not successfully explained how it would bridge the wealth gap between blacks and whites in a way that is credible to a majority of voters. Even with, and perhaps now more than ever, in the current economic climate, it is critical that it does this, with or without Mr. Furbert.

For Mr. Furbert, the future is less clear. Sitting as an Independent in the Bermuda House of Assembly, is famously lonely. No doubt he will receive feelers from the other side, but should judge those with care. The example of Grace Bell, who crossed the floor before the 1998 election and got little reward is the prime example. Mr. Simmons received a plum job, but must surely be aware that neither party will ever truly trust him.

It is likely that Mr. Furbert would most want to be able to launch a new party with himself in a leading role, under whose banner he could run in a general election.

But the recent Southampton West Central by-election and Raymond Davis' performance there as an Independent seems to suggest that party lines are drawn more strongly than ever, and the road for Independents and third parties is steeper than ever.

As for the PLP, the prospect of continued weakness and division in the opposition will be welcome, if only to divert attention from its own divisions. But it would seem, at least at this stage, that it is the winner in all of this.