Bob Horton

Robert 'Bob' Terrance Horton (born 17th May 1945) is a Scottish journalist, radio presenter and political campaigner.

Early Life
Horton was brought up through dire poverty by his divorced mother in a Glasgow council house in the 1940s and 50s. He has since spoken of a his childhood being the hardest time of his life and speaks of strong families being the key to Britain's future. In 1957, aged 12, Horton's mother, Elspeth died aged 39 of liver cancer. His mother never told Bob of her disease and her death came as a total surprise to him and his three sisters. After his mother's death he lived with his aunt until 1963, when he went on a scholarship to the University of Liverpool.

Journalism
Horton studied English at University and quickly set up his own satirical student newspaper, entitled 'the spliff'. Horton smoked cannabis in his time at University and once admitted that he had tried cocaine. After leaving Liverpool in 1966, Horton worked as a freelance for three years until in 1969 he worked as a reporter for the Liverpool Echo. In 1971, Horton became news editor for the Echo, but was sacked for 'biased reporting' just three months into his new job. After his departure from the Echo, Horton's mental health nose-dived, and he developed a serious drink problem. It wasn't until 1974 that he started writing again, when he set up the 'Scots Weekly' magazine which concentrated on the changing face of Scottish politics. In 1977 he started writing for the London Evening Standard and in 1979 worked as a reported for the Daily Mail. By 1983, Horton was the chief entertainment reporter for the Mail, before leaving to become assistant editor of the Scotsman in 1984. In 1990, Horton applied to become the editor of the Sunday Times, but was rejected and decided to set up his own media group called, 'The Grimes' in protest at the newspaper. In 1991, he started writing for the weekly newspaper and in 1994 set up Grimes Radio, for whom he presented 38 hours a week. In 1997, he buried the Grimes venture and started working or BBC Radio Norwich, before leaving after swearing on air in 1999. In 2000, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and released one last set of media pieces in January 2003 before his Parkinson's became out of control. He called the pieces, 'Hi There' and released two radio broadcasts via the internet, a video diary and wrote a journal called 'Shake It All About' documenting life with Parkinson's.

Politics
Horton was brought up as a socialist, with his whole family active campaigners for the Labour Party. Yet during his student days, Horton confessed to wavering in and out of support for the Liberals and voted for the party in the 1964 election. Through the seventies Horton became a 'political skeptic' and was against the policies of the major parties. In 1980, he joined the SNP (Scottish National Party) and began campaigning for them throughout the early eighties. He admitted that he considered standing as an SMP but decided against it after the birth of his fourth child. In 1995, Horton left the SNP and started up his own party 'The Dove Party'. The Dove Party never stood for election at any level as Horton felt their effectiveness would be best used simply as a campaigning tool. In 2002, Horton rejoined the SNP but still confesses his belief in 'Dovism', a radical form of liberalism and socialism.

Parkinson's
In 2000, Horton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, although it is believed he first contracted the disease in 1998. He has since set up his own 'Bob Horton Trust' in aid of Parkinson's and has written several books on the subject.

Personal Life
Horton married his first wife Joanna in 1969, but she died in a car crash in March 1970. Horton has admitted that he was a secret bisexual during the 70s and early 80s, but after meeting his current wife Bernadette in a London Pub in 1982, he has claimed to be completely straight. They married in 1984 and gave birth to their first child Lindy in 1985, their second, Benjamin in 1986, their third, Tara in 1987 and Nicola in 1988. His eldest daughter Lindy died from Lukeimia in 1996.

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