John George Hancock (15 October 1857 – 19 July 1940) was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and sometimes Labour Party politician and Trade Unionist in the

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Background

He was the eldest son of Joseph Hancock of

Pinxton Pinxton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire on the eastern boundary of Nottinghamshire, England, just south of the Pinxton Interchange at Junction 28 of the M1 motorway where the A38 road meets the M1. Pinxton is part of the Bolsover ...

, Derbyshire. In 1882 he married Mary Hoten of Pinxton.

Early career

Hancock worked at a pit as a boy. He formed the Pinxton Branch of the

Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Nottinghamshire, England. A Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was founded in the 1860s, but became moribund by the 1870s, although some branc ...

. In 1893 he became the General Secretary of the Nottinghamshire Miners' Association. He became a miners agent and the miners association Financial Secretary in 1896.

Political career

He was elected as (MP) for Mid Derbyshire at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in July 1909, as a Liberal candidate, sponsored by the Derbyshire Miners Association. Hancock held the seat and managed a slightly reduced majority; In 1909, he was one of a group of Miners Union sponsored Liberal MPs who were instructed by the

Miners Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

to take the Labour party whip in the House of Commons and stand at the following election as Labour party candidates. Hancock held the seat at the following General election under his new party label; He held the seat at the following General election; He served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Nottinghamshire. Relations between the Labour and Liberal parties deteriorated after 1910 and they were expected to field candidates against each other in some cases at the next election, anticipated to be in 1915. 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.Industrial Politics and the 1926 Mining Lockout He was then returned unopposed for the new Belper constituency. In 1921, after 25 years service, he stood down from the post of Financial Secretary of the Nottinghamshire Miners Association, but continued as a miners agent. He held the seat again at the 1922 election, this time, for the first time, against a Labour Party opponent. However, he was defeated at the 1923 general election by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate,

Herbert Wragg Sir Herbert Wragg (1880 – 13 February 1956) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Belper in Derbyshire from 1923 to 1929 and from 1931 to 1945. He was first elected at the 1923 general electi ...

. Aged 65, he did not stand for

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again. In 1927, following the General Strike, there was a split in the Nottinghamshire miners and Hancock followed the Association's General Secretary and Labour MP, George Spencer in the creation of the more moderate Nottinghamshire Miners' Industrial Union. Hancock became the breakaway union's Treasurer, serving until 1937 when the two miners organisations reunited.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, John George 1857 births 1940 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs Miners' Federation of Great Britain-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 People from Pinxton