Joseph William Ashton a.k.a. Joe Ashton (born October 9, 1933) is a British politician.

He was Labour member of Parliament for Bassetlaw from 1968 to 2001, when he stood down. He was a writer for the Daily Star in the 1980s and was frequently on television talking about his favourite football club, Sheffield Wednesday. Two years before he stood down, he faced allegations about his presence at a 'Thai massage parlour' during a police raid, but had planned to stand down anyway. He was replaced by John Mann.