Robert Laxton (born 7 September 1944) is a British Labour Party politician who was the member of parliament (MP) for Derby North from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

until standing down at the 2010 general election.

Early life and education

Laxton attended the Woodlands

Secondary Modern School A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

(became the Woodlands Community School) on ''Blenheim Drive'' in

Allestree Allestree is a suburb and Ward (politics), ward of the city of Derby, a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, in Derbyshire, England. It is the northernmost ward and is on the A6 road (Great Britain), A6 road, about north of ...

. He also attended the Derby College of Art and Technology.

Career

Laxton was a telecommunications engineer for the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

from 1961. Whilst in this employment, he was a union representative and branch official for the Post Office Engineering Union, which became the National Communications Union in 1985, and finally the Communication Workers Union in 1995. Prior to becoming an MP, he was leader of Derby City Council from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1994 to 1997. He was first elected to the city council in 1979.

Parliamentary career

During the 2001 Parliament he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancello ...

, an old friend from his days as a union official who was Higher Education Minister and then

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and P ...

before resigning from this role in 2005 to become a British representative on the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. He was chair of th
Waterways
All-Party Parliamentary Group. On 19 October 2009, Laxton announced his intention to stand down at the next general election.

References

External links

Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Bob Laxton MP

TheyWorkForYou.com – Bob Laxton MP
*

News items

Boycotting the Labour conference in 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laxton, Bob 1944 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Alumni of the University of Derby Politicians from Derby Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire Councillors in Derby BT Group people