Robert Courts

Robert Courts
MP
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Office
In office
16 January 2018 – 15 July 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
Jeremy Hunt
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Vacant
Member of Parliament
for Witney
Assumed office
20 October 2016
Preceded by David Cameron
Majority 21,241 (34.8%)
Personal details
Born (1978-10-21) 21 October 1978[1]
Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, UK[2]
Political party Conservative
Alma mater University of Sheffield
Website Official website

Robert Alexander Courts MP (born 21 October 1978) is a British politician and barrister serving as Member of Parliament for Witney since 2016. Courts retained his seat in the 2017 general election with an increased majority.

Early career

Courts was schooled at Berkhamsted School, where he was head of Fry’s House, before reading law at the University of Sheffield.[3][4] Courts was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 2003 and practises as a barrister at 3PB Chambers.[5] He worked in Wellington, New Zealand, at the Crown Law Office (Legal Advisors) for the New Zealand Government in 2009.[5]

Political career

Courts was elected a Conservative member of West Oxfordshire District Council in 2014.[6]

He was selected as the Conservative Party candidate to replace David Cameron as Member of Parliament in the Witney by-election, 2016.[6] Although the electorate of Witney voted in favour of 'Remain' in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016,[7] Courts had supported the successful 'Leave' campaign.[8]

Courts retained the seat for the Conservatives in the 20 October by-election, but with a greatly reduced majority of 5,702, down from 25,155 when David Cameron last contested the seat.[9] He was then sworn in on 24 October.[10] He increased his majority to over 21,000 in the 2017 general election.

Courts was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in January 2018,[11] but resigned as a PPS on 15 July 2018 in protest of the White Paper on Exiting the European Union and the Chequers Agreement.[12][13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "MyParliament - Biography for Robert Courts".
  2. ↑ "Search Results - Birth, Marriage, Death - findmypast.co.uk". search.findmypast.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "Whither Witney? The by-election everyone's watching". www1.dehavilland.co.uk. 23 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017.
  4. ↑ https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robertcourts
  5. 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.
  6. 1 2 Association, Press (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.
  7. ↑ "Referendum on the United Kingdom's Membership of the European Union" (PDF). West Oxfordshire DC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "Conservatives' Robert Courts wins Witney by-election". The Independent. 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  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. ↑ "List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): January 2018".
  12. ↑ https://news.sky.com/story/may-suffers-yet-another-resignation-as-robert-courts-quits-over-her-brexit-plan-11438048
  13. ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/07/15/theresa-may-faces-eighth-resignation-brexit-plans-nine-days/
  14. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/15/theresa-may-faces-rebellion-from-brexit-hardliners-in-customs-bill-vote
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
David Cameron		 Member of Parliament
for Witney
2016–present		 Incumbent
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