Robert Courts
Robert Alexander Courts KC (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.
Robert Courts | |
|---|---|
Courts in 2019 | |
| Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
| Assumed office 7 December 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Michael Tomlinson |
| Chair of the Defence Select Committee | |
| In office 25 October 2023 – 12 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tobias Ellwood |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Quin |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport | |
| In office 8 September 2020 – 6 September 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Kelly Tolhurst |
| Succeeded by | Anne-Marie Trevelyan[a] |
| Member of Parliament for Witney | |
| Assumed office 20 October 2016 | |
| Preceded by | David Cameron |
| Majority | 15,177 (24.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 October 1978[1] Stockport, Greater Manchester, England[2] |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Kathryn |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Sheffield |
| Website | robertcourts |
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 edit
Robert Courts was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester. His father Ian Courts is a solicitor, company director, and the Conservative leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.[3] His mother, Sheila, is a school governor.[3][4]
Courts was educated at Berkhamsted School, where he was head of Fry's House, before reading law at the University of Sheffield.[5]
He 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.[6] He worked in Wellington, New Zealand, at the Crown Law Office (Legal Advisors) for the New Zealand Government in 2009.[6]
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.[7]
Political career edit
Courts supported the successful 'Leave' campaign in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016.[8]
He was selected as the Conservative Party candidate in the 2016 Witney by-election.[7] At the election, Courts was elected as MP for Witney with 45% of the vote and a majority of 5,702.[9] He was sworn into the House on 24 October.[10]
He is a member of the European Research Group, having subscribed in April 2017.[11]
At the snap 2017 general election, Courts was re-elected as MP for Witney with an increased vote share of 55.5% and an increased majority of 21,241.[12][13]
He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in January 2018,[14] but resigned as a PPS on 15 July 2018, in protest of the White Paper on Exiting the European Union and the Chequers Agreement.[15][16][17]
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.[18] 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. He 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]
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]
At the 2019 general election, Courts was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 55.2% and a decreased majority of 15,177.[22]
Courts was a supporter of the proposed free trade deal with Australia and New Zealand, describing it as a "no-brainer".[23]
Under-Secretary of State for Transport edit
Courts was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 8 September 2020.[24] His responsibilities include aviation and maritime affairs.[24] 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.[25][26] Courts is a supporter of High Speed 2 (HS2).[27]
In June 2022, Courts was held partly accountable for the aviation travel crisis in UK airports.[28] However, he was subsequently involved in significant discussions with Grant Shapps and senior aviation leaders to discuss the crisis.[29][30][28]
Courts left the front bench when Liz Truss became prime minister. The new transport secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, took direct responsibility for the shipping brief.[31]
Solicitor General edit
After returning to the backbenches, Courts was elected chair of the Defence Select Committee on 25 October 2022. However he returned to government on 7 December 2023 as Solicitor General for England and Wales, receiving the customary appointment as King's Counsel24 January 2024.[32]
Personal life edit
Courts is married to Kathryn; they have two young children, and live in the village of Bladon, Oxfordshire.[33]
He has been a member of the Churchill Centre for many years, and reviews books about Winston Churchill in the quarterly journal, Finest Hour.[34]
On 24 January 2024, he was appointed King's Counsel.[35]
Notes edit
- ^ The junior role for shipping and aviation was assumed directly by the Secretary of State for Transport.
References edit
- ^ "MyParliament - Biography for Robert Courts". My Parliament.
- ^ "Search Results - Birth, Marriage, Death - findmypast.co.uk". search.findmypast.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Register of interests: Councillor Ian Courts". Solihull.gov.uk.
- ^ "Visit by Cllr Ian and Mrs Sheila Courts". TroopAid. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Whither Witney? The by-election everyone's watching". www1.dehavilland.co.uk. 23 September 2016. from the original on 24 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Robert Courts – 3 Paper Buildings Barristers' Chambers". www.3pb.co.uk. from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ a b Press Association (22 September 2016). "Robert Courts chosen as Tory candidate for David Cameron's constituency". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (11 October 2016). "Witney byelection: hard Brexit may be key issue in Cameron's former constituency". The Guardian. from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ "AS IT HAPPENED: Conservative Robert Courts elected as Witney's new MP". Witney Gazette. 20 October 2016.
- ^ "Tracy Brabin and Robert Courts sworn in as MPs". BBC News. 24 October 2016. from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Robert Courts - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^ "Parties race against time to choose candidates". BBC News. 22 April 2017.
- ^ percentage change compared to previous General Election in 2015
- ^ "List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): January 2018". GOV.UK.
- ^ "May suffers yet another resignation as Robert Courts quits over her Brexit plan". Sky News. 15 July 2018.
- ^ Mikhailova, Anna (15 July 2018). "Theresa May hit by her eighth resignation over Brexit plans in nine days, as ministerial aide quits". The Telegraph.
- ^ Sabbagh, Dan (15 July 2018). "Theresa May faces rebellion from Brexit hardliners in customs bill vote". The Guardian.
- ^ Brooke-Holland, Louisa (15 May 2018). "Prospects for combat air: What follows Typhoon and Lightning?". UK Parliament.
- ^ "Key People – The Air League". airleague.co.uk.
- ^ "Robert Courts MP repays £3k for House of Commons 'stationery misuse'". BBC News. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Early Day Motions". Robert Courts. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Witney Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "The Telegraph: Free Trade with our Aussie and Kiwi Allies is a No-brainer". Robert Courts MP. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Robert Courts MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Green shipping boost as Maritime Minister announces plans to explore shore power". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Green shipping: UK plans to explore shore power in ports". Energy Live News. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Robert Courts compared to 'HS2 - In Favour'". www.publicwhip.org.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Minister was warned staff crisis would lead to 'inevitable' travel chaos, says aviation union". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Transport Secretary meets with aviation industry following disruption at UK airports". GOV.UK. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Transport Secretary meets with aviation industry following disruption at UK airports". ITIJ. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "UK transport secretary Trevelyan takes on shipping brief". Lloyd’s List. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Crown Office". www.thegazette.co.uk.
- ^ "About Robert Courts". Robert Courts MP.
- ^ "Books, Arts, & Curiosities - European Unity - Finest Hour". The International Churchill Society. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Crown Office". www.thegazette.co.uk.
External links edit
- Robert Courts official website
- Robert Courts MP Maiden Speech, 2016
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou