Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMGThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent whilst he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, St. Michael and St...
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". Membership exists in various Commonwealth countries around the world and it is a status, conferred by the Crown,...
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
(born 21 June 1946) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
and
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for the constituency of
Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997, has become a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary...
. He served in various roles as a
CabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
Minister under both
Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post....
and
John MajorSir John Major, KG, CH, ACIB , is a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and former Leader of the Conservative Party. He held these posts from 1990 to 1997....
, before becoming
Foreign SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of...
in 1995 in Major's Cabinet. Rifkind remained in that post until the
1997 general electionThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
, when his party lost power, and he lost his
Edinburgh PentlandsEdinburgh Pentlands was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1950, and abolished prior to the general election of 2005...
seat. He attempted - unsuccessfully - to be re-elected in Pentlands in
2001The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. There was little change at all - outside Northern Ireland - with 620 out of 641 seats remaining unchanged. Labour enjoyed its second so-called 'landslide victory' in a row, maintaining its...
; the constituency was abolished before the
2005 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the House of Commons.The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats...
and he was adopted, and subsequently elected, as the Conservative candidate for
Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997, has become a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary...
.
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMGThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent whilst he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, St. Michael and St...
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". Membership exists in various Commonwealth countries around the world and it is a status, conferred by the Crown,...
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
(born 21 June 1946) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
and
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for the constituency of
Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997, has become a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary...
. He served in various roles as a
CabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
Minister under both
Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post....
and
John MajorSir John Major, KG, CH, ACIB , is a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and former Leader of the Conservative Party. He held these posts from 1990 to 1997....
, before becoming
Foreign SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of...
in 1995 in Major's Cabinet. Rifkind remained in that post until the
1997 general electionThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
, when his party lost power, and he lost his
Edinburgh PentlandsEdinburgh Pentlands was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1950, and abolished prior to the general election of 2005...
seat. He attempted - unsuccessfully - to be re-elected in Pentlands in
2001The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. There was little change at all - outside Northern Ireland - with 620 out of 641 seats remaining unchanged. Labour enjoyed its second so-called 'landslide victory' in a row, maintaining its...
; the constituency was abolished before the
2005 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the House of Commons.The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats...
and he was adopted, and subsequently elected, as the Conservative candidate for
Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997, has become a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary...
. He announced his intention to seek the leadership of the party before the
2005 Conservative Party leadership electionThe 2005 Conservative leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as leader in the near future. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted,...
, but withdrew before balloting commenced.
Early life
Malcolm Rifkind was born in Edinburgh of Jewish descent, and was educated at
George Watson's CollegeGeorge Watson's College is a leading co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Scotland's capital city Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871 and was merged with its sister school...
and the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh founded in 1582, is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It is the sixth university to be established in the British Isles, making it one of the ancient universities of the United Kingdom.The university is amongst the...
where he studied law before taking a postgraduate degree in political science (his thesis was on land apportionment in
Southern RhodesiaSouthern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa, and known today as Zimbabwe.-Origin as 'Rhodesia':...
). While at University he took part in an overland expedition to the Middle East and India. He also appeared on
University ChallengeUniversity Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC TV from 1959 to 1970. University Challenge aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 1962 to 1987, before being cancelled...
. He worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the
University College of RhodesiaThe University of Zimbabwe in Harare, is the oldest and largest university in Zimbabwe. It was founded through a special relationship with the University of London and it opened its doors to its first students in 1952. The university has ten faculties offering a wide variety of degree programmes...
in Salisbury (now
HarareHarare is the capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its administrative, commercial, and communications centre...
) from 1967-68. He was called to the
Scottish BarThe Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
in 1970 and practised full time as an Advocate until 1974. He was appointed a
Queen's CounselQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". Membership exists in various Commonwealth countries around the world and it is a status, conferred by the Crown,...
in 1985 and a member of the
Privy CouncilHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
in 1986. From 1970 to 1974 he was a member of Edinburgh Town Council. He is married to Edith and is the father of Caroline Rifkind and
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
columnist
Hugo RifkindHugo Rifkind is a writer for The Times and the son of former Conservative Cabinet Minister and MP, Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Until May 2008 he wrote a diary column focusing on politicians, celebrities, and other well-known personalities...
. He is also related to his former Conservative Government colleague Leon Brittan
Member of Parliament
Rifkind first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in 1970 in the
Edinburgh CentralEdinburgh Central was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
constituency. He entered Parliament in the
February 1974 general electionThe UK general election of February 1974 was held on 28 February 1974. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the only election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party, instead producing a hung...
representing
Edinburgh PentlandsEdinburgh Pentlands was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1950, and abolished prior to the general election of 2005...
for the
Scottish Conservative and Unionist PartyThe Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland...
. During the leadership election in 1975 he supported Edward Heath in the first round but when Heath withdrew Rifkind voted for Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher, on becoming Leader, appointed Rifkind an Opposition front-bench spokesman on Scottish Affairs. He subsequently resigned from that position (along with the Shadow Scottish Secretary, Alick Buchanan-Smith) in protest at the decision of the Shadow Cabinet to vote against the Government's Bill for a Scottish Assembly. Rifkind argued that as, at that time, the Conservative Party supported the principle of a Scottish Assembly it would have been preferable either to vote for the Second Reading of the Bill or to abstain, and try to improve the Bill. In the subsequent referendum on a Scottish Assembly Rifkind voted in favour but withdrew his support when the result of the referendum showed Scotland almost equally divided on a measure opposed by the rest of the United Kingdom.
Junior Minister
Rifkind was one of only four Ministers (Kenneth Clarke, Patrick Mayhew and Lynda Chalker are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. This represents the longest, uninterrupted Ministerial service in the United Kingdom since Lord Palmerston in the early 19th century.
He was appointed Minister of Home Affairs and the Environment at the Scottish Office in the 1979
ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post....
Government.In that role he was responsible for the passage of the Tenants Rights (Scotland)Act which resulted in a massive increase of home ownership in Scotland as council tenants bought their homes.He was also responsible, under the Secretary of State (George Younger) for relations with local government and for the police and prisons. In 1982, at the time of the Falklands War, he was transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, being promoted to Minister of State at the Foreign Office in 1983.At the Foreign Office he served first under Francis Pym and then Sir Geoffrey Howe.Rifkind was responsible for Britain's relations with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the European Community, and sub-Saharan Africa. He assisted Sir Geoffrey Howe in persuading Mrs Thatcher to change the Government's policy on the Soviet Union, attended the Chequers meeting which decided to invite Soviet leaders to the United Kingdom, and was present at Chequers when Mrs Thatcher had her first meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev and decided that he was a Soviet leader with whom "she could do business". Rifkind also had strong links with the Solidarity movement in Poland.In 1984 he made a Ministerial visit to Poland. Against the wishes of General Jaruzelski, the Polish Communist President, he insisted on laying a wreath at the grave of the murdered Polish priest Father Popieluzsko, and had a meeting with three of the leaders of the banned Solidarity movement. Jaruzelski attacked Rifkind and cancelled a meeting he was due to have with him but Rifkind's meeting with Solidarity created a precedent that was followed by the West German Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and other Western ministers. This helped force the Polish Government to remove the ban on Solidarity and acknowledge the need for political reform and pluralism. Rifkind was, subsequently, decorated by the non-communist democratic Polish Government for his support. Rifkind, as Minister responsible for the European Community, was appointed by the Prime Minister as her personal representative on the Dooge Committee of the European Community. The Report of the Committee helped prepare the way for the development of the Single European Market.
Secretary of State for Scotland
In 1986 he was promoted into the cabinet as
Secretary of State for ScotlandThe Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
. He gained a reputation as being a moderate voice on social and economic issues, and sometimes had disputes with
Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post....
. As Secretary of State he initiated major reforms in Scotland.These included the privatisation of the Scottish electricity industry and the Scottish Transport Group. He created Scottish Homes as the Government's housing agency; and Scottish Natural Heritage which combined both the Countryside Commission for Scotland and the Nature Conservancy Council.He also transformed the Scottish Development Agency into Scottish Enterprise with much greater private sector involvement. When Rifkind became Secretary of State his first task was to defuse a teachers dispute which was crippling Scottish education. He also sought to help the Ravenscraig steel mill which was threatened with closure.Rifkind opposed closure by the Government arguing that the whole steel industry should be privatised and that the future of individual plants would be determined by the companies that owned them in the private sector. One of his most difficult challenges was the demand from the public for the abolition of the domestic rates system. Rifkind supported the introduction of the community charge, or poll tax,which the Cabinet had approved shortly before his appointment.He also agreed with the decision proposed by his predecessor, George Younger, that the new tax should be introduced a year earlier in Scotland than in England because of the political necessity to end the domestic rates. Rifkind subsequently accepted that the poll tax had been a major mistake by the Government. Throughout his term as Scottish Secretary, Rifkind, like Younger before him, and Ian Lang and Michael Forsyth in later years, was constrained by the political weakness of the Conservative Party in Scotland unlike in England. This problem was the underlying reason for his differences with Mrs Thatcher which increased, significantly, towards the end of her Prime Ministership. When Mrs Thatcher was challenged by Michael Heseltine for the Leadership of the Conservative Party Rifkind voted for her. During the tense period that followed the first round of voting Rifkind was one of those who advised Mrs Thatcher that it would be best for her to stand down. In the forthcoming Leadership election he supported Douglas Hurd.
Secretary of State for Transport
In 1990 he was moved by
John MajorSir John Major, KG, CH, ACIB , is a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and former Leader of the Conservative Party. He held these posts from 1990 to 1997....
to be
Secretary of State for TransportThe Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
. One of his first responsibilities was to go into the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel , also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the UK with Coquelles, near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is deep...
, which was being constructed, and witness the first physical contact between those tunnelling from the French and British ends of the Tunnel. One of his main priorities as Transport Secretary was to take forward the policy proposals for the privatisation of the railways. Rifkind supported privatisation but concluded that it would be a mistake to separate ownership of the infrastructure from the operating companies as track costs were a large percentage of their unavoidable costs. This view brought him into conflict with the Treasury and meant that Conservative proposals for privatisation were not ready by the time of the 1992 General Election. The Prime Minister favoured the Treasury argument that competition between railways companies would be discouraged if one company owned the track. Rifkind maintained that the competition to rail would come from air and road and not from other rail companies. After Rifkind left the Ministry of Transport in 1992 the Treasury view prevailed and this led to the creation of
RailtrackRailtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
.
Secretary of State for Defence
Rifkind was appointed Secretary of State for Defence after the 1992 General Election.Although he had no military background he was a firm believer in strong defence and armed forces with a global capability. One of his early decisions was to reverse the proposed disbandment of the Cheshire and Staffordshire Regiment and the Royal Scots. In 1994 he was faced with Treasury demands for major cuts in the Defence budget. In order to protect the fighting capability of the armed forces he negotiated a settlement with the Treasury whereby he would deliver savings greater than they were demanding but that he would be allowed to keep the additional savings and use them for the purchase of new military equipment for each of the three Services. He had already won the support of the Chiefs of Staff for this approach which provided an incentive for their cooperation in making the necessary economies.The outcome was the Front Line First Report which was well-received both in Parliament and in the Armed Forces. However, some of its proposals, particularly in regard to defence medical services were, in later years, subjected to heavy criticism. With some of the additional savings that had been found Rifkind was able to secure the agreement of the United States to British purchase of Cruise missiles. The United Kingdom was, at that time, the only country to which the Americans were willing to sell Cruise missiles. Rifkind also reformed the Reserve Forces and initiated the policy review which led to the TA and other Reservists being able to be used in operations abroad without the need for full mobilisation of the whole Territorial Army as had been needed in the past.
One of the most difficult problems that Rifkind dealt with as Defence Secretary was British involvement in the Bosnian war in former Yugoslavia. Like John Major and the Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, Rifkind was opposed to military intervention by Britain and the international community as combatants in that conflict. However, he supported the use of British troops and those from other countries to protect humanitarian food convoys that were protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians.Rifkind was a strong and vocal opponent of the American proposal for "lift and strike" which would have ended the UN Arms Embargo and subjected the Bosnian Serbs to Nato bombing from the air. Rifkind agreed with the UN and European view that such bombing would be incompatible with a UN mission on the ground and would necessitate the ending of that mission. Rifkind expressed these views publicly in Washington as well as in London. Although the United States was increasingly frustrated and concerned at this impasse it did not do lasting damage to US-British relations as evidenced by the American willingness to sell Cruise Missiles to the United Kingdom.
Foreign Secretary
In the final years of the Major administration Rifkind was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. One of his first duties was to chair the London Summit on Bosnia which put much greater pressure on the Bosnian Serbs in the aftermath of the Srebrenica massacre and led, in due course, to the Dayton Accord which ended the fighting. As Foreign Secretary, on 24 September 1996 Rifkind addressed the United Nations General Assembly and called for a UN Declaration barring political asylum for terrorists, arguing that they should not be able to benefit from the provisions of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees to secure political asylum. In the same speech he emphasised Britain's commitment to the goal of global free trade by 2020 and said all governments should liberalise their economies and lift trading restrictions. In the Middle East Rifkind committed the British Government, for the first time, to a Palestinian State on the West Bank and in Gaza. He, also, in a speech in the Gulf, called for a Middle Eastern equivalent of the OSCE to enable dialogue to take place, at the regional level between Israel and its Arab neighbours as well as between Iran and the Arab world. One of his main duties were the final negotiations with China over the transfer of Hong Kong. Rifkind had several meetings with the Chinese Foreign Minister both in Beijing and in London, as well as with the Hong Kong Governor, Chris Patten, and elected Hong Kong politicians.
Election defeat and return to parliament
After the 1997 General Election Rifkind received a knighthood in
John Major’s resignation honoursThe 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to the London Gazette of 1 August 1997 and marked the May 1997 resignation of Prime Minister John Major....
, becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), in recognition of his work for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
In the
1997 general electionThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
he lost his
PentlandsEdinburgh Pentlands was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1950, and abolished prior to the general election of 2005...
seat in common with all Conservatives in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(and
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
), and was succeeded by
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
candidate Lynda Clark. Rifkind was one of the few MPs to try again in his old seat, rather than seeking a safer one, standing again for Edinburgh Pentlands against Clark in the
2001 general electionThe UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. There was little change at all - outside Northern Ireland - with 620 out of 641 seats remaining unchanged. Labour enjoyed its second so-called 'landslide victory' in a row, maintaining its...
; although he improved his showing somewhat, he was unable to overturn the sizeable 10.6% majority in an election where the Conservatives made little progress. During this time he remained politically active, as president of the Scottish Conservatives, and used his position outside Westminster to criticise the
2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
and the
BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
Government's support of it. At the time, the Conservative Party was staunchly in support of the invasion.
In 2005 he returned to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for the London constituency of Kensington and Chelsea with a majority of 12,418.
Leadership contender
On 8 June 2005, a month after the Conservative defeat in the
2005 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the House of Commons.The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats...
, Rifkind stated that it was "quite likely" that he would stand for the leadership after
Michael HowardMichael Howard QC, MP is a British politician. He served as the leader of the Conservative Party from November 2003 to December 2005...
's resignation. Rifkind subsequently confirmed this on the 14th of August, despite admitting that he had a "mountain to climb", and receiving sparse support amongst Conservative MP's, with several exceptions such as
Crispin BluntCrispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt is the Conservative Member of Parliament for the English constituency of Reigate. He replaced rebel Eurosceptic George Gardiner in 1997.-Career:Blunt was born in 1960...
.
Despite this, Rifkind went through to the 'conference stage' of the leadership process, in which each candidate was given speaking time to address Conservative party conference directly. In his speech, Rifkind declared that Conservatives had to be "pragmatic, sensitive and moderate", and stress their "unique combination of principle and patriotism." The speech won eight rounds of aplause from the conference, with nearly a minute-long finale.
The speech did not galvanise Rifkind's candidacy, however, which had always been regarded as a long shot - bookmakers had him at 50-1 and a poll found that only 4% of Conservative voters supported his candidacy. Consequently, on 11 October 2005, he announced that he was withdrawing from the leadership contest and that he would be supporting
Kenneth ClarkeKenneth "Ken" Harry Clarke QC MP is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe and the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills...
's candidacy, acknowledging that "There is no realistic prospect of me coming through". In endorsing Clarke, Rifkind stated that he was "head and shoulders" above the other candidates, and had both the experience and popular appeal to take on Labour.
On 7 December 2005 he left the Conservative front bench as incoming leader
David CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom. He has occupied both positions since December 2005....
formed his team. Rifkind admitted that he had not wished to remain a
Shadow CabinetThe Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
minister unless in the post of Shadow
Foreign SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of...
, but this post had gone to
William HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Richmond , Shadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet...
. Rifkind declared his loyalty to the new party leader and remains one of the Conservative Party's most experienced senior figures. In December 2004 he became a leading spokesman of the
Global Zero campaignGlobal Zero in an international initiative launched in December 2008 to promote the elimination of nuclear weapons. It proposes a phased withdrawal and verification for the destruction of all devices held by official and unofficial members of the nuclear club.-Overview:Global Zero was launched in...
which seeks the reduction and, if possible, the elimination of all nuclear weapons by multilateral negotiation.
Rifkind is a Member of the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland, the
Royal Company of ArchersThe Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland...
. He is the Honorary Colonel of the City of Edinburgh Universities Officer Training Corps and served for eight years as Honorary Colonel of a Territorial Army regiment, 162 Movement Control Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps. He is President of the Edinburgh University Development Trust and is a Trustee of the Dulverton Trust. He serves on the Board of several companies as a non-executive director.
2009 Expenses
During the
controversy over expenses in 2009The United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the publication of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
, Rifkind was reported as having claimed £3,066 in travel reimbursement for flights to his home in Scotland despite representing
Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997, has become a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary...
in London. Rifkind stated it was a taxable benefit on which he paid full tax.
See also
- Foreign Secretary
- 2005 Conservative Party leadership election
The 2005 Conservative leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as leader in the near future. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted,...
Publications
- Rights and wrongs: The European Convention on Human Rights and its application in the United Kingdom (SSC biennial lecture) by Malcolm Rifkind (2000, Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland) ISBN B0000CP0RH
- Head to Head on the Euro: Kenneth Clarke and Malcolm Rifkind edited by Janet Bush (2000, New Europe) ISBN 0-9536360-3-8
- Conservative Britain in the 21st century by Malcolm Rifkind (1996, Centre for Policy Studies) ISBN 1-897969-53-8
- Hume Occasional Paper No.46: UN Peacekeeping – Past Lessons and Future Prospects (Hume Occasional Papers) by Malcolm Rifkind (1995, The David Hume Institute) ISBN 1-870482-43-3
- Towards 2000 by Malcolm Rifkind (1988, Conservative Political Centre) ISBN 0-85070-788-9
External links