ANALYSIS: Newshub is told Labour's caucus meeting was emotional.
They've never had to farewell so many. A lot of MPs are off to uncertain futures.
But the mood of the meeting was one of sadness and disappointment rather than anger.
There's still a lot of soul-searching to go on and there will be a full-blown review of this defeat.
The Labour Party requires a vote on leadership within three months of an electoral loss but they can't hold that vote until they know what the caucus is actually going to look like.
It's on November 3 when they get the final results and the thinking among some Newshub have spoken to is to get that leadership vote over and done with pretty soon after.
There are a number of senior Labour MPs who did the Opposition death spiral dance between 2008 and 2015 with multiple leadership changes. We saw those MPs symbolically standing in solidarity behind Hipkins on Tuesday.
One of whom is Grant Robertson. He is in on the list and could quit tomorrow and be done with all the drama but he has decided to stay on, lend some experience, and get the team fighting fit for Opposition.
There is hope they can learn from the bad old days, let Hipkins stay on as Opposition leader - a role many think he will be quite good at - but this place is brimming with ego and that doesn't often mix well with sensibility.
Jenna Lynch is Newshub's Political Editor.
