On 18 August 1911 the Parliament Act was given Royal Assent following the collapse of opposition to the Bill in the House of Lords.

These pages from the diaries of Sir Courtenay Ilbert, the Clerk of the House of Commons, detail the events of that momentous period. As Clerk Ilbert gave guidance on procedural issues arising from bills such as that which became the Parliament Act and gained a reputation for providing legal expertise while remaining impartial in the face of  the political divides caused by controversial legislation.

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