Bob Laxton was born in and has lived and worked in Derby all of his life.

He was educated at Allestree Woodlands Secondary School followed by a period at the then Derby College of Art &Technology. Employed by Post Office Telecommunications, now BT plc for many years as a Telecommunications Engineer, he was an active Trade Unionist being secretary of a large Derby based branch of the POEU (now the CWU) for many years up to the time of his being elected to Parliament. In addition he held a number of senior negotiating positions within the CWU, representing members across the Midlands, Wales and the South West.

Bob first became a Derby City Councillor in 1979 and remained so until May 1997. He was secretary to the controlling Labour Group on the City Council from 1979 to 1986 and was Council Leader from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1994 to 1997. He was Chair of the City Council's Personnel Committee for many years as well as a long-standing member of the Housing Committee. Over the years he has served upon most of the Council's many committees as well as being Chair of the Derby City Partnership. He was involved in the East Midlands Development Company on behalf of Derbyshire local authorities and represented Derby City on the Southern Derbyshire Business Link. He was a previous Chair of the East Midlands Local Government Association.

In May 1997 Bob was elected as MP for Derby North, winning comfortably with a majority of over 10,000 votes. He was re-elected in 2001 and in 2005.

Since 1997, Bob has been an active Parliamentarian. He has been a member of the Trade and Industry Select Committee, Vice President of the Local Government Association, Vice Chair of the Trade Union Group of MPs and Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party Trade and Industry Back Bench Committee.

From 2001-2005 Bob served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Rt. Hon Alan Johnson MP. Working alongside Alan, Bob served in the three major Government Departments – Trade and Industry, Education and Work and Pensions. After the 2005 election, Bob stood down as a PPS to become and Alternate member of the Parliamentary Delegation to the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe is the continent's oldest political organisation. Founded in 1949, it involves 46 countries and covers 800 million Europeans. It plays a vital role as the political anchor and human rights watchdog for Europe's post-communist democracies. Bob continues to be a member of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). He is currently Chair of the All Party Waterways Group, Vice Chair of the All Party Hepatitis Group and sits on the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) Executive. Bob also continues to actively campaign on national heath issues, raising awareness for Diabetes and Childhood Anaemia.