Robert Laxton (born 7 September 1944) is a British Labour Party politician who was the member of parliament (MP) for Derby North from 1997 until standing down at the 2010 general election.
Laxton was a telecommunications engineer for the General Post Office from 1961.
Prior to becoming an MP, he was leader of Derby City Council from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1994 to 1997.
During the 2001 Parliament he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Alan Johnson, an old friend from his days as a union official who was Higher Education Minister and then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions before resigning from this role in 2005 to become a British representative on the Council of Europe.
On 19 October 2009, Laxton announced his intention to stand down at the next general election.