Courts was a PPS to Foreign Office Ministers, and is Cameron’s Brexiteer successor at Witney. His pro-Leave views paid a part in his selection: the former Prime Minister didn’t leave his Association and county council on easy terms. (The latter opposed his approach to academisation, mistakenly in the view of this site.)
We make Courts’ exit the fifth over Brexit within a week: David Davis, Boris Johnson, Chris Green, Conor Burns and now the Witney MP. Plus two Party Vice-Chairmen – Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield.
The Courts’ exit may well be a one-off, but it’s consistent with pro-Brexit MPs who are opposed to Theresa May’s new Brexit proposals returning to a strategy of organising a front bench resignation a day. The question is whether Jacob Rees-Mogg and company have the capacity to implement such a plan. Downing Street and the Whips will be seaching for the answer.