Hancock decided that he would rather defend his seat as a Liberal, so crossed the floor in 1915 to re-join the Liberals. During the war he combined with future Labour MP George Spencer to attempt to take the Nottinghamshire Miners Association out of the Miners Federation of Great Britain political fund.
Hancock chose to maintain his Liberal position and made the decision to switch parties in 1915 to re-associate with the Liberals. During the war, he collaborated with future Labour MP George Spencer to try to remove the Nottinghamshire Miners Association from the Miners Federation of Great Britain's political fund.