Preston North End Born in
Clitheroe, Barton started in the youth ranks at
Blackburn Rovers before being released at the age of sixteen due to a serious back injury. Although originally seen as a gamble due to his injury,
Preston North End gave Barton a youth scholarship and his performances at youth and reserve team level earned him a two-and-a-half-year contract in December 2008. In the 2009–10 season, Barton moved to
Conference National side
Crawley Town on a one-month loan. After making two appearances for the club he returned to Preston, where he made an appearance in the club's reserve side. Due to manager
Darren Ferguson starting to use youngsters in the first team, Barton made his full debut in a home 3–2 win over
Scunthorpe United on 10 April 2010, being replaced at half-time due to a head injury. At the start of the 2010–11 season, Barton signed a two-year contract to keep him at Preston until 2013. He scored his first goal in the 4–3 defeat to
Burnley in September 2010. After scoring his first goal, Barton established himself in the first team, where he made thirty-five appearances in all competitions, scoring once. However, Barton was unable to help the club avoid relegation to
League One. Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Barton was linked with
Wolverhampton Wanderers and
Blackburn Rovers. Despite this, newly appointed manager
Phil Brown said he believed Barton could be a key figure to the club this season, quoting:
"That is the position for him, sitting in front of the back four and making us play, like an orchestra leader. He has got that ability but he has to demand the ball and get on it more times." However, Barton's season didn't go as planned, as he mostly spent time on the bench at the start of the season. He scored his first goal of the season, in the
League Cup third round, in a 2–1 loss against
Southampton. On 25 February 2012, Barton suffered a suspected triple leg break and a dislocated ankle in a 0–0 draw against
Walsall after making a challenge with Walsall's
Richard Taundry. As a result of his injury, new Preston manager
Graham Westley said he believed Barton would come back stronger once he had recovered, while Taundry said he believed the tackle was innocuous, though he wished Barton a speedy recovery. Following surgery Barton was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Coventry City On 6 August 2012, Barton signed a three-year contract with
Coventry City. He made his league debut for the club, in the opening game of the season as Coventry drew 1–1 with
Yeovil Town. Three weeks after signing for the club, he scored his first goal, in a 2–2 draw against
Bury. He finished the season with 3 goals in 22 League games. On 27 March 2014, Barton joined
League Two side
Fleetwood Town on loan for the remainder of the
2013–14 season. After making 27 League appearances for Coventry in the
2014–15 season, he was released by the club at the end of the season.
Portsmouth On 24 June 2015 Barton signed a two-year deal with
Portsmouth.
Partick Thistle Barton signed for
Scottish Premiership club
Partick Thistle on 31 August 2016 on a three year deal, moving for an undisclosed transfer fee. He scored his first Partick Thistle goal in a 2–1 home defeat to
Aberdeen, scoring a header from a corner into the top left corner of the goal. He was also awarded Man of the Match for his performance. On 9 November 2016, Barton was named as
Premiership Player of the Month for October 2016. In the same month Barton also won Partick Thistle's McCrea Financial Services Player of the Month award as voted for by the Partick Thistle supporters. Barton scored his second Thistle goal in a 1–0 away win over St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup. In May 2017 Barton was named the club's player of the Year in his first season with Thistle.
Dundee United Following Partick Thistle's relegation from the Premiership, Barton signed a two-year contract with
Scottish Championship club
Dundee United in July 2018.
Connah's Quay Nomads (loan) In January 2019 he switched to the
Welsh Premier League signing on loan for
Connah's Quay Nomads.
Wrexham On 4 July 2019, Barton signed for
Wrexham on a two-year deal. Barton left Wrexham in February 2020 having made 10 appearances in all competitions.
Farsley Celtic On 18 December 2020, Barton moved to
National League North club
Farsley Celtic.
Curzon Ashton In November 2021 he joined
Curzon Ashton. Barton signed a new two year deal with Curzon Ashton in June 2025. On 20 March 2026, Barton was named player-manager of the club. ==International career==