§ Mr. KilfedderOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I wish to raise the matter of the rights of an hon. Member to take part in a particular debate. Like other hon. Members, I have been trying for some time to take part in debates and have failed to catch your eye, and, of course, I appreciate your position, Mr. Speaker. On the Immigration Bill I intended to abstain and I thought it right to give my reasons to the House, but again I failed to catch your eye. I accepted that decision with grace, although I do not accept the argument that as I have no coloured constituents in Down, North, I should join the end of the queue.
Yesterday during the debate on Northern Ireland, I sat in the Chamber for six hours of the debate anxious to take part. I left the Chamber for only ten minutes or a quarter of an hour to get a cup of tea. Two other Ulster Unionists took part in the debate and three hon. Members from Northern Ireland were called. [Interruption.] I hope that hon. Gentlemen opposite are as anxious to sustain the rights of backbenchers as I am.
§ Mr. SpeakerThis is not a point of order. However, it is a point for which I have some sympathy. One of the hon. Member's hon. Friends spoke for 32 minutes and another for 19 minutes. In such circumstances the Chair finds itself in great difficulty. Certainly the Chair would like to call every hon. Member who wishes to take part in a debate, but this depends on the self-discipline of hon. and right hon. Members. I am sorry that I cannot help the hon. Member.