Malcolm Rifkind
Encyclopedia
Sir
Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG
QC
MP (born 21 June 1946) is a British Conservative Party
politician
and Member of Parliament for Kensington
. He served in various roles as a cabinet
minister under Prime Ministers
Margaret Thatcher
and John Major
, including Secretary of State for Scotland
(1986-1990), Defence Secretary
(1992-1995) and Foreign Secretary
(1995-1997).
Rifkind was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Edinburgh Pentlands
from 1974
to 1997
, when his party lost power and he lost his seat to the Labour Party
. He attempted - unsuccessfully - to be re-elected in Pentlands in 2001
; the constituency was abolished before the 2005 general election
and he was adopted, and subsequently elected, as the Conservative candidate for Kensington and Chelsea
. He announced his intention to seek the leadership of the party before the 2005 Conservative Party leadership election
, but withdrew before balloting commenced. He was Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House of Commons until the dissolution of the House of Commons on 12 April 2010. When the Kensington and Chelsea constituency was realigned to create the new seats of Chelsea and Fulham
and Kensington
, Rifkind stood for the latter seat and was elected at the 2010 general election with a 50.1% share of total votes cast, with a majority of 8,616 votes.
Rifkind was appointed chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee
by the Prime Minister, David Cameron
, on 6 July 2010, a post he will hold for the duration of the Parliament. Rifkind is a Patron of the Tory Reform Group
.
, his cousin is Leon Brittan. He was educated at George Watson's College
and the University of Edinburgh
where he studied law before taking a postgraduate degree in political science (his thesis was on land apportionment in Southern Rhodesia
). While at University he took part in an overland expedition to the Middle East and India. He also appeared on University Challenge
. He worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the University College of Rhodesia
in Salisbury (now Harare
) from 1967-68. He was called to the Scottish Bar
in 1970 and practised full time as an Advocate until 1974. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel
in 1985 and a member of the Privy Council in 1986. From 1970 to 1974 he was a member of Edinburgh Town Council.
constituency. He entered Parliament in the February 1974 general election
representing Edinburgh Pentlands
for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
. 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 over the proposal.
, 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 Britain 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 Thatcher
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 Jerzy Popiełuszko, 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.
. He gained a reputation as being a moderate voice on social and economic issues, and sometimes had disputes with Margaret Thatcher
. 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 and did not promise to support her if she stood for election. Mrs Thatcher considered his action treachery. In the forthcoming Leadership election he supported Douglas Hurd
.
to be Secretary of State for Transport
. One of his first responsibilities was to go into the Channel Tunnel
, 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 Railtrack
.
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.
, and elected Hong Kong politicians. Rifkind also, as Foreign Secretary, called for the creation of a North Atlantic Free Trade Area that would have created a free trade relationship between the European Union and the United States and Canada.
he lost his Pentlands
seat in common with all Conservatives in Scotland (and Wales), and was succeeded by Labour
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 election
; 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 Iraq
and the Blair
Government's support of it. At the time, the Conservative Party was staunchly in support of the invasion.
After the 1997 general election, Rifkind received a knighthood in John Major’s resignation honours
, 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 2005 general election
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.
's resignation. Rifkind subsequently confirmed this on 14 August, although admitting that he had a "mountain to climb", and receiving sparse support amongst Conservative MPs, with several exceptions such as Crispin Blunt
.
Despite this, Rifkind went through to the 'conference stage' of the leadership process, in which each candidate was given speaking time to address the 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 applause 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 Clarke
'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 Cameron
formed his team. Rifkind admitted that he had not wished to remain a Shadow Cabinet
minister unless in the post of Shadow Foreign Secretary
, but this post had gone to William Hague
. Rifkind declared his loyalty to the new party leader and remains one of the Conservative Party's most experienced senior figures.
In December 2008, he became a leading spokesman of the Global Zero movement, which includes over 300 eminent leaders and over 400,000 citizens from around the world working toward the elimination of all nuclear weapons by multilateral negotiation. In July 2010 he was appointed by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth as a member of the Eminent Persons Group, chaired by a former Prime Minister of Malaysia, which has been requested to report to the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on recommendations for the future revitalisation of the Commonwealth.
columnist Hugo Rifkind
. He is also related to his former Conservative Government colleague Leon Brittan and Producer and DJ Mark Ronson
.
. Co-Chair of the Trident Commission established in 2011 to examine and report on the UK's nuclear weapon capability.
News articles
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Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen'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...
MP (born 21 June 1946) is a British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and Member of Parliament for Kensington
Kensington (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington is a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in west London, comprising the northern and central parts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around Kensington...
. He served in various roles as a cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
minister under Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, including Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The 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...
(1986-1990), Defence Secretary
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
(1992-1995) and Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
(1995-1997).
Rifkind was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Edinburgh Pentlands
Edinburgh Pentlands (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh 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...
from 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
to 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, when his party lost power and he lost his seat to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He attempted - unsuccessfully - to be re-elected in Pentlands in 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
; the constituency was abolished before the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
and he was adopted, and subsequently elected, as the Conservative candidate for Kensington and Chelsea
Kensington and Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington and Chelsea was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997 became 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 election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2005
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,...
, but withdrew before balloting commenced. He was Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House of Commons until the dissolution of the House of Commons on 12 April 2010. When the Kensington and Chelsea constituency was realigned to create the new seats of Chelsea and Fulham
Chelsea and Fulham (UK Parliament constituency)
Chelsea and Fulham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was first contested in the 2010 general election....
and Kensington
Kensington (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington is a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in west London, comprising the northern and central parts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around Kensington...
, Rifkind stood for the latter seat and was elected at the 2010 general election with a 50.1% share of total votes cast, with a majority of 8,616 votes.
Rifkind was appointed chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee
Intelligence and Security Committee
The Intelligence and Security Committee is a committee of parliamentarians appointed by the Prime Minister to oversee the work of the Intelligence machinery of the United Kingdom...
by the Prime Minister, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, on 6 July 2010, a post he will hold for the duration of the Parliament. Rifkind is a Patron of the Tory Reform Group
Tory Reform Group
The Tory Reform Group is a group aligned to, but independent of, the British Conservative Party, that works to promote the values of the One Nation Tory vision...
.
Early life
Rifkind was born in Edinburgh to a Jewish family that emigrated to Britain in the 1890s from LithuaniaLithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
, his cousin is Leon Brittan. He was educated at George Watson's College
George Watson's College
George Watson's College, known informally as Watson's, is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of 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 Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
where he studied law before taking a postgraduate degree in political science (his thesis was on land apportionment in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
). While at University he took part in an overland expedition to the Middle East and India. He also appeared on University Challenge
University Challenge
University 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 television from 1959 to 1970....
. He worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the University College of Rhodesia
University of Zimbabwe
The 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 Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and 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...
) from 1967-68. He was called to the Scottish Bar
Faculty of Advocates
The 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 Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen'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...
in 1985 and a member of the Privy Council in 1986. From 1970 to 1974 he was a member of Edinburgh Town Council.
Member of Parliament
Rifkind first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in 1970 in the Edinburgh CentralEdinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh Central was a burgh 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 election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
representing Edinburgh Pentlands
Edinburgh Pentlands (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh 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 Party
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
. During the leadership election in 1975 he supported Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
in the first round but when Heath withdrew Rifkind voted for Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. 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
Alick Buchanan-Smith
Alick Laidlaw Buchanan-Smith was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist politician.The second son of Alick Drummond Buchanan-Smith, Baron Balerno and Mary Kathleen Smith, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Glenalmond College, Pembroke College, Cambridge and University of Edinburgh...
) in protest at the decision of the Shadow Cabinet to vote against the Government's Bill for a Scottish Assembly
Scotland Act 1978
The Scotland Act 1978 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to establish a Scottish Assembly as a devolved legislature for Scotland...
. Rifkind argued that as, at that time, the Conservative Party supported the principle of a Scottish Assembly
Scottish Assembly
The Scottish Assembly was a proposed legislature for Scotland that would have devolved a set list of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
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 over the proposal.
Junior Minister
Rifkind was one of only four Ministers (Kenneth ClarkeKenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
, Patrick Mayhew
Patrick Mayhew
Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC is a British barrister, and Conservative Party politician.He was educated at Tonbridge School and Balliol College, Oxford...
and Lynda Chalker
Lynda Chalker
Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey PC is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Wallasey from 1974 to 1992...
are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Governments of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
. This represents the longest, uninterrupted Ministerial service in Britain 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 Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
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
Francis Pym
-Bibliography:****- External links :...
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 Jerzy Popiełuszko, 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 ScotlandSecretary of State for Scotland
The 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 Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. As Secretary of State he initiated major reforms in Scotland. These included the privatisation of the Scottish electricity industry
Energy policy of Scotland
Energy policy in Scotland is a matter that has been specifically reserved to the UK parliament under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998 that created the devolved Scottish Parliament...
and the Scottish Transport Group. He created Scottish Homes as the Government's housing agency; and Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage is a Scottish public body. It is responsible for Scotland's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e...
which combined both the Countryside Commission for Scotland and the Nature Conservancy Council
Nature Conservancy Council
The Nature Conservancy Council was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 ....
. He also transformed the Scottish Development Agency into Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business...
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
Ravenscraig
Ravenscraig is an area of land located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Ravenscraig was previously inhabited by steel industry workers, as it was formerly the site of Ravenscraig steelworks...
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
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. 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
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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
Ian Lang
Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton PC is a former British Conservative MP for Galloway from 1979 to 1983 and for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 1983 to 1997....
and Michael Forsyth
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean
Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997...
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
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
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 and did not promise to support her if she stood for election. Mrs Thatcher considered his action treachery. In the forthcoming Leadership election he supported Douglas Hurd
Douglas Hurd
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....
.
Secretary of State for Transport
In 1990 he was moved by John MajorJohn Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
to be Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The 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 Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais 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 Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack 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 and Kings Own Scottish Borderers. 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 mobilization 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 PattenChris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
, and elected Hong Kong politicians. Rifkind also, as Foreign Secretary, called for the creation of a North Atlantic Free Trade Area that would have created a free trade relationship between the European Union and the United States and Canada.
Election defeat and return to parliament
In the 1997 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
he lost his Pentlands
Edinburgh Pentlands (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh 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 Scotland (and Wales), and was succeeded by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
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 election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
; 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 Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
and the Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the 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.
After the 1997 general election, Rifkind received a knighthood in John Major’s resignation honours
1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
The 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 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
he returned to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for the London constituency of Kensington and Chelsea
Kensington and Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington and Chelsea was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997 became a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary...
with a majority of 12,418.
Leadership contender and thereafter
On 8 June 2005, a month after the Conservative defeat in the 2005 general election, Rifkind stated that it was "quite likely" that he would stand for the leadership after Michael HowardMichael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
's resignation. Rifkind subsequently confirmed this on 14 August, although admitting that he had a "mountain to climb", and receiving sparse support amongst Conservative MPs, with several exceptions such as Crispin Blunt
Crispin Blunt
Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the Reigate constituency in Surrey, and since May 2010 he has been the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Youth Justice within the Ministry of Justice.He first entered...
.
Despite this, Rifkind went through to the 'conference stage' of the leadership process, in which each candidate was given speaking time to address the 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 applause 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 Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
'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 Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
formed his team. Rifkind admitted that he had not wished to remain a Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The 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 Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
, but this post had gone to William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
. Rifkind declared his loyalty to the new party leader and remains one of the Conservative Party's most experienced senior figures.
In December 2008, he became a leading spokesman of the Global Zero movement, which includes over 300 eminent leaders and over 400,000 citizens from around the world working toward the elimination of all nuclear weapons by multilateral negotiation. In July 2010 he was appointed by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth as a member of the Eminent Persons Group, chaired by a former Prime Minister of Malaysia, which has been requested to report to the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on recommendations for the future revitalisation of the Commonwealth.
Personal life
He is married to Edith and they are the parents of Caroline Rifkind and The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
columnist Hugo Rifkind
Hugo Rifkind
Hugo Rifkind is a columnist for The Times and The Spectator and the son of MP and former Conservative and Unionist Cabinet Minister, Sir Malcolm Rifkind.-Early life and education:...
. He is also related to his former Conservative Government colleague Leon Brittan and Producer and DJ Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
.
Current
- Non-executive Director of UnileverUnileverUnilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
plc - Non-executive Director of Aberdeen Asset ManagementAberdeen Asset ManagementAberdeen Asset Management plc is an international investment management group, managing assets for both institutions and private investors from offices around the world. Its head office is in Aberdeen, Scotland. The company is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:The company was...
plc; Salary £50,000 - Non-executive Director of Continental Farmers Group plc; Salary £45,000
- Non-executive Director of Adam Smith InternationalAdam Smith InstituteThe Adam Smith Institute, abbreviated to ASI, is a think tank based in the United Kingdom, named after one of the founders of modern economics, Adam Smith. It espouses free market and classical liberal views, in particular by creating radical policy options in the light of public choice theory,...
plc; Salary £35,000 - Member of Advisory Board, L.E.K. ConsultingL.E.K. ConsultingL.E.K. Consulting is an international strategy consulting firm, with headquarters in London.Started in 1983 by three partners from Bain & Company, James Lawrence, Iain Evans and Richard Koch, L.E.K. has since grown to over 900 consultants and 20 offices worldwide...
; Salary £25,000
Current
- Member of the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland, the Royal Company of ArchersRoyal 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. It is currently known as the Queen's...
- Honorary Colonel of the City of Edinburgh Universities Officer Training Corps
- President of the Edinburgh UniversityUniversity of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
Development Trust - Trustee of the Dulverton Trust
- Member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferationTop Level GroupThe Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation is a cross-party parliamentary group in the United Kingdom, whose primary focus is the advancement of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda in Britain and internationally...
, established in October 2009.
. Co-Chair of the Trident Commission established in 2011 to examine and report on the UK's nuclear weapon capability.
Previous
- Honorary Colonel of 162 Movement Control Regiment162 Movement Control RegimentThe 162 Movement Control Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, is a regiment of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom.In 2006 it was amalgamated with the 163 Movement Control Regiment and is now the only volunteer Movement Control Regiment in the Territorial Army...
, Royal Logistic Corps, Territorial Army
See also
- Foreign Secretary
- 2005 Conservative Party leadership electionConservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2005The 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
- Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP official constituency website
- Sir Malcolm Rifkind Conservative Party profile
- Kensington, Chelsea & Fulham Conservatives
- Article archive at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
News articles
- ePolitix - Sir Malcolm Rifkind - Shadow work and pensions secretary 10 June 2005 interview
- BBC News – Rifkind in frame for leadership 7 June 2005
- BBC News – Profile: Sir Malcolm Rifkind 10 May 2005
- The Observer – Manifesto for a Conservative Britain column by Malcolm Rifkind, 8 May 2005
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