 After the report's publication, Belcher's constituency party resolved to decide his future at their annual meeting, due on 26 February, when Belcher would be given the chance to make his case to them.However, after further reflection, he decided that his position was untenable and that he should resign his seat forthwith.On 3 February 1949, when the tribunal's report was debated in the House of Commons, he made an emotional personal statement in which he announced his immediate intention to take the Chiltern Hundreds, the legal device for resignation from the Commons.