Wolverton was elected to Parliament for
Shaftesbury as a
Liberal in 1857, a seat he would hold until he succeeded his father in 1873 and entered the
House of Lords. In 1868 he was appointed
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in William Gladstone's
first administration, a post he held until 1873, when he was also admitted to the
Privy Council. The Liberals lost office in 1874, but when Gladstone returned to power in 1880 Wolverton was appointed
Paymaster General. He retained this office until Gladstone resigned in June 1885 and the
Conservatives came to power under
Lord Salisbury. The same year the Liberal Party split over the issue of
Irish Home Rule. Wolverton supported Gladstone and was rewarded when he was made
Postmaster General in February 1886, when Gladstone became
Prime Minister for a third time. However, the government fell already in July the same year. ==Iwerne Minster==