Robert Courts was born on 21 October 1978 in Stockport. 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]
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]
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.[11][12]
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. He is a council member of the Air League.[18]
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.[20]
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.[21]
Courts was a supporter of the proposed free trade deal with Australia and New Zealand, describing it as a "no-brainer".[22]
After nearly eight years in office, Courts lost his seat at the 2024 general election to the Liberal Democrat candidate Charlie Maynard,[23] becoming the first Conservative candidate to lose in the Witney constituency since its inception in 1983.[24]
In June 2022, Courts was held partly accountable for the aviation travel crisis in UK airports.[29] However, he was subsequently involved in significant discussions with Grant Shapps and senior aviation leaders to discuss the crisis.[30][31][29]
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.[32]
