Constituency : Shaftesbury 1857-73
George was the son of the similarly named banker and MP for Kendal. He was educated at Rugby and Oxford. He was a partner in the family business challenging the Rothschilds in Austria and advising on the Overend Gurney crisis. He
George was first elected in 1857. In 1866 he became the Liberals' chief whip in opposition and had to become an inactive partner in the bank. He was an important player in the development of the party and deserves some of the credit for the 1868 election triumph after making a deal with the Reform League. He also put the whips' office in the same headquarters as the Liberal Registration Association thus strengthening links between the parliamentary party and the local associations. He was rewarded with the Chief Whip in the Commons position. In 1873 he failed to secure a majority for the Irish Universities Bill and shortly afterwards he succeeded his father as Baron Wolverton and left the Commons.
In Gladstone's second ministry George was Paymaster-General for the duration. He stayed loyal to his friend Gladstone over Home Rule and was Postmaster-General in his brief third ministry. In the latter capacity he used his salary to fund a convalescent home for sick postmen
George was a keen hunter and owned a pack of bloodhounds. He also enjoyed yachting and racing.
He died in 1887 aged 64. Shortly before his death he had presided over a great anti-coercion demonstration at Brighton.
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