Kammala wannan jumla: Rifkind ya fara tsayawa takara a majalisar, ba tare da nasara ba, a 1970 a mazabar Edinburgh ta Tsakiya. Ya shiga Majalisar a cikin babban zaben Fabrairu 1974 wanda ke wakiltar Edinburgh Pentlands don Scottish Conservative da Unionist Party. A lokacin zaben shugaban kasa a shekarar 1975, ya goyi bayan Edward Heath a zagaye na farko amma lokacin da Heath ya janye Rifkind ya zabi Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher, lokacin da ya zama jagora, ya nada Rifkind mai magana da yawun adawa a kan harkokin Scotland. Daga baya ya yi murabus daga wannan matsayi (tare da Sakataren Scottish Shadow, Alick Buchanan-Smith) don nuna rashin amincewa da shawarar majalisar ministocin Shadow don kada kuri'a a kan Dokar Gwamnati don Majalisar Scottish. Rifkind ya yi jayayya cewa, a wancan lokacin, Jam'iyyar Conservative ta goyi bayan ka'idar Majalisar Scottish, da ya fi kyau a zabi ko dai a yi zabe a karo na biyu na lissafin ko kuma a guji, kuma a yi kokarin inganta lissafin. A cikin na gaba
a kan kuri'ar raba gardama kan Majalisar Scottish, Rifkind ya yi maraba da shi, amma ya janye goyon bayansa lokacin da sakamakon kuri'ar raba gardama ya nuna Scotland kusan daidai yake game da shawarar.