July - December 2024
Rankin was subsequently elected as the Member of Parliament for Windsor at the 2024 general election,winning 36.4% of the vote and a majority of 6,457. [18]
Rankin gave his maiden speech on 22 October 2024,during a debate in the Commons on the Commonwealth of Nations. [19] He referenced a number of constituency issues,including a third runway at Heathrow and flooding,as well as sharing the history of his Windsor constituency through a constitutional focus,touching on Windsor Castle,Magna Carta and the Commonwealth. [19] He said he would fight for the principles:"a belief in the rule of law,parliamentary democracy,freedom of speech,property rights,and innocent until proven guilty by a jury of our peers,all built on a shared constitutional heritage" in his time in Parliament. [19]
Later in October 2024,Rankin raised the employment and "millions" generated for the local economy by Ascot and Royal Windsor racecourses within his constituency,and the impact of proposed regulation. [20] . Following this,in February 2025,two local news stories appeared in quick succession regarding Rankin's contribution and his Members' Register of Interests [21] [22] . The stories featured no opposing quotes and Rankin was thanked by both constituency racecourses for visiting them,and standing up for their employees during an uncertain period for the industry. [22] [21] In the Bracknell News, Rankin was quoted as saying "I proudly and unashamedly continue to stand up for the fantastic Ascot and Royal Windsor racecourses in my constituency,that is me doing my job,regardless of any attempt to skew my clear motives for doing so". [22]
Reacting to the 2024 budget,Rankin attacked Chancellor Rachel Reeves for "chucking money at an unreformed public sector while ballooning public sector pay",and the Cabinet for their "distinct lack of real world,private sector experience." [23]
In October 2024,it was confirmed with 24-hours' notice that The Manor Hotel in the village of Datchet within Rankin's constituency would be used as accommodation due to the "high number of arrivals across the channel". [24] Rankin wrote to the Home Secretary,Yvette Cooper,to oppose this decision,following up with two oral questions in the House of Commons chamber. [25] In January 2025,he hosted a Westminster Hall debate on asylum hotels,stating that "we,collectively,are the fools for putting a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow—we need to remove it." [26] The hotel was closed in May 2025,with a report by The Times stating that "[Rankin] is one of a few MPs who has managed to persuade the Home Office to close an asylum hotel under this government." [27]
In November 2024,Rankin started a petition against potential closure of the Windsor post office. [28]
2025
Rankin was placed on the public bill committee for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in January 2025. [29] Sharing his views on the Bill in The Spectator ,Rankin said his party should be "remembering that the Conservative Party has traditionally stood for individual liberty,personal responsibility and the free market" saying that the Bill "flies in the face of all these principles". [30]
After the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council announced its budgetary plans to increase Council tax by 25%, [31] Rankin began a campaign,calling on the government to reject the rise. [32] Following local campaigning by Conservative Councillors [33] and the TaxPayers' Alliance, [34] the government announced it would only allow the Council to raise Council tax by 8.99%. [35]
Speaking at a Westminster Hall debate in January 2025,Rankin raised concerns at the government's changes to employer National Insurance contributions,specifically regarding Thames Hospice and Thames Valley Air Ambulance which provide services within his constituency. [36]
Speaking at Home Office oral question time,Rankin highlighted the "ticking time bomb" posed by Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK,which he said could cost the British state "more than £61 billion." [37]
Rankin has campaigned for the re-instatement of Channel 1 of the River Thames Scheme,raising this with the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions. He subsequently secured a meeting with the Minister for Water and Flooding [38] .
In April 2025,Rankin sponsored an early day motion advocating for the mass deportation of illegal migrants within the UK,along with seventeen other MPs. [39]
On 22 April 2025,Rankin made his debut at the despatch box,carrying out official opposition duties at justice oral questions [40] .
Following his petition to Save Windsor Post Office,which gained over 1,850 supporters,Rankin presented the signatures formally to the House of Commons. [41]
When the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill came to the Commons,Rankin delivered a speech in opposition to the government's reforms:
"We walk through the Division lobbies,directed by the Whips,often having had no time,because of the impossible juggling act,to develop real knowledge of the topic in question or to think through properly the implications. Some of the stuff that leaves this place with a massive majority might have well been written in crayon. Thank God for the other place. Do not remove long-serving public servants and outstanding legislators. Do not pick at the threads of our constitution. The other place is one of the parts of our constitution which works best. We should retain Lords amendment 1 and 8." [42]
Reacting to Heathrow's expansion plan coming forward in August 2025,Rankin said:"Heathrow’s expansion cannot be judged on aviation capacity alone. It must be scrutinised for its real economic value,its environmental costs,and its impact on the day-to-day lives of my constituents. On all these fronts,I will continue to stand firmly against the third runway." [43]
In September 2025,at Prime Minister’s Questions,Rankin raised the armed arrest of comedy writer Graham Linehan at Heathrow Airport and asked the Prime Minister to commit to reviewing the United Kingdom’s free speech laws [44] .
Writing in The Telegraph,in October 2025,Rankin warned that the government's "anti-enterprise" agenda and "surrender" to Chinese grip on critical minerals risked national security [45] .
