Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - 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 kuri'ar raba gardama da aka yi game da 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 da rabuwa game da shawarar.