Joseph William Aston was born in Sheffield on 9 October 1933. He married Margaret Patricia Lee in 1957. He was educated at High Storrs Grammar School and Rotherham Technical College.
He began work as an engineer when he was a teenager and in 1962 he was elected to Sheffield Council, later becoming chief whip. He left to enter Parliament, winning the Bassetlaw by-election in 1968 for the Labour party by a small margin. He held the seat until he retired in 2001.
Ashton served as Tony Benn’s PPS in 1974, and subsequently joined the Whips Office, but resigned the following year. From 1979 to 1981 he was the opposition spokesman on energy. He was a member of several Select Committees, including Trade and Industry (1987-92); Home Affairs (1989-92); National Heritage (1992-97); Modernising the House (1997-98) and was the Chairman of the All-Party Football Committee (1992-2001).