Robert Courts
MP
Courts in 2019
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Assumed office
7 December 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byMichael Tomlinson
Chair of the Defence Select Committee
In office
25 October 2023 – 12 December 2023
Preceded byTobias Ellwood
Succeeded byJeremy Quin
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office
8 September 2020 – 20 September 2022[1]
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byKelly Tolhurst
Succeeded byAnne-Marie Trevelyan[lower-alpha 1]
Member of Parliament
for Witney
Assumed office
20 October 2016
Preceded byDavid Cameron
Majority15,177 (24.8%)
Personal details
Born (1978-10-21) 21 October 1978[2]
Stockport, Greater Manchester, England[3]
Political partyConservative
SpouseKathryn
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Sheffield
Websiterobertcourts.co.uk

Robert Alexander Courts (born 21 October 1978) is a British politician and barrister serving as Solicitor General for England and Wales since December 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been MP for Witney since 2016. He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport in the Johnson government from 2020 to 2022 and served as Chair of the Defence Select Committee from October to December 2023.

Courts was elected for Witney at a by-election in 2016, succeeding former Prime Minister David Cameron. He retained his seat in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

Early life and career

His father Ian Courts is a solicitor, company director, and the Conservative leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.[4] His mother, Sheila, is a school governor.[4][5]

Courts was schooled at Berkhamsted School, where he was head of Fry's House, before reading law at the University of Sheffield.[6] Courts was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 2003 and practises as a barrister at 3PB Chambers principally in the fields of personal injury/clinical negligence and public and regulatory law, especially Animal Welfare, Aviation, Police and Proceeds of Crime Law.[7] He worked in Wellington, New Zealand, at the Crown Law Office (Legal Advisors) for the New Zealand Government in 2009.[7]

Political career

Courts stood as a Council candidate in Solihull in 2002 but was unsuccessful. Courts was elected a Conservative member of West Oxfordshire District Council in 2014.[8]

Courts supported the successful 'Leave' campaign in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016.[9] He was selected as the Conservative Party candidate to replace David Cameron—who had resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in July and from Parliament in September—as MP in the 2016 Witney by-election.[8] Courts retained the seat for the Conservatives in the 20 October 2016 by-election, but his majority of 5,702 was considerably smaller than the 25,155-strong majority Cameron won in the 2015 general election. He was sworn into the House on 24 October.[10] He is a member of the eurosceptic European Research Group, having subscribed in April 2017.[11]

Courts increased his majority to over 21,000 in the 2017 general election. He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in January 2018,[12] but resigned as a PPS on 15 July 2018, in protest of the White Paper on Exiting the European Union and the Chequers Agreement.[13][14][15] Courts was a supporter of the proposed free trade deal with Australia and New Zealand, describing it as a "no-brainer".[16]

Courts' main Parliamentary interests are defence and foreign policy. He is credited by the House of Commons library with helping to lead the "parliamentary pressure" that led to the announcement of the Ministry of Defence's Combat Air Strategy, the programme for the eventual replacement of the Eurofighter Typhoon.[17] Courts represents RAF Brize Norton, the largest RAF base in the UK, and serves as the vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces. Courts is not listed as having any military experience.[18] Courts is a council member of the Air League.[19]

In October 2018, the Parliamentary commissioner for standards found Courts had breached rules by using official stationery in campaign updates.[20] Courts was elected to the Transport Committee in October 2018.

Courts was a member of the Justice Select Committee between January and December 2019.

In August 2019, Courts was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Theresa Villiers. Regarding parliamentary procedure, Courts has been an outspoken critic of Early Day Motions (EDMs), describing them as "parliamentary graffiti". Courts has said that EDMs are generally tabled by MPs on behalf of "lobbyists or groups keen to show themselves as doing something", that they are "politically impotent" and a waste of taxpayers' money.[21]

Under-Secretary of State for Transport

Courts speaking at the UK Chamber of Shipping Annual Dinner in 2022 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London

Courts was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 8 September 2020.[22] His responsibilities include aviation and maritime affairs.[22] In February 2022, he gave the keynote speech at the UK Chamber of Shipping annual dinner, urging for investment in sustainable shipping and a review to gather information related to shore power in ports.[23][24] Courts is a supporter of High Speed 2 (HS2).[25]

In June 2022, Courts was held partly accountable for the aviation travel crisis in UK airports.[26] However, he was subsequently involved in significant discussions with Grant Shapps and senior aviation leaders to discuss the crisis.[27][28][26]

On 21 September 2022, Courts was formally replaced by Anne-Marie Trevelyan who, along with acting as Secretary of State for Transport, also assumed responsibility for shipping and aviation.[1]

Personal life

Courts is married to Kathryn; they have two young children, and live in the village of Bladon, Oxfordshire.[29]

He has been a member of the Churchill Centre for many years, and reviews books about Winston Churchill in the quarterly journal, Finest Hour.[30]

Notes

  1. ↑ The junior role for shipping and aviation was assumed directly by the Secretary of State for Transport.

References

  1. 1 2 "UK transport secretary Trevelyan takes on shipping brief". Lloyd’s List. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "MyParliament - Biography for Robert Courts". My Parliament.
  3. ↑ "Search Results - Birth, Marriage, Death - findmypast.co.uk". search.findmypast.co.uk.
  4. 1 2 "Register of interests: Councillor Ian Courts". Solihull.gov.uk.
  5. ↑ "Visit by Cllr Ian and Mrs Sheila Courts". TroopAid. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Whither Witney? The by-election everyone's watching". www1.dehavilland.co.uk. 23 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Robert Courts – 3 Paper Buildings Barristers' Chambers". www.3pb.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 Press Association (22 September 2016). "Robert Courts chosen as Tory candidate for David Cameron's constituency". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Elgot, Jessica (11 October 2016). "Witney byelection: hard Brexit may be key issue in Cameron's former constituency". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Tracy Brabin and Robert Courts sworn in as MPs". BBC News. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "Robert Courts - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): January 2018". GOV.UK.
  13. ↑ "May suffers yet another resignation as Robert Courts quits over her Brexit plan". Sky News. 15 July 2018.
  14. ↑ Mikhailova, Anna (15 July 2018). "Theresa May hit by her eighth resignation over Brexit plans in nine days, as ministerial aide quits". The Telegraph.
  15. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (15 July 2018). "Theresa May faces rebellion from Brexit hardliners in customs bill vote". The Guardian.
  16. ↑ "The Telegraph: Free Trade with our Aussie and Kiwi Allies is a No-brainer". Robert Courts MP. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  17. ↑ Brooke-Holland, Louisa (15 May 2018). "Prospects for combat air: What follows Typhoon and Lightning?". UK Parliament.
  18. ↑ "Service History: How Many MPs Have Military Experience?". Forces Network. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  19. ↑ "Key People – The Air League". airleague.co.uk.
  20. ↑ "Robert Courts MP repays £3k for House of Commons 'stationery misuse'". BBC News. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Early Day Motions". Robert Courts. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  22. 1 2 "Robert Courts MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  23. ↑ "Green shipping boost as Maritime Minister announces plans to explore shore power". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Green shipping: UK plans to explore shore power in ports". Energy Live News. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  25. ↑ "Robert Courts compared to 'HS2 - In Favour'". www.publicwhip.org.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  26. 1 2 "Minister was warned staff crisis would lead to 'inevitable' travel chaos, says aviation union". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  27. ↑ "Transport Secretary meets with aviation industry following disruption at UK airports". GOV.UK. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "Transport Secretary meets with aviation industry following disruption at UK airports". ITIJ. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  29. ↑ "About Robert Courts". Robert Courts MP.
  30. ↑ "Books, Arts, & Curiosities - European Unity - Finest Hour". The International Churchill Society. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
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