William Morris, founder of the League, was its chief writer, money finder and "responsible head".

[1] Before the last meeting of the Social Democratic Federation Morris and Aveling visited Frederick Engels to discuss their proposed paper.

The first number appeared at the beginning of February 1885.John Turner, Ernest Belfort Bax and Eleanor Marx also regularly contributed articles.

With the dissolution of the Socialist League, the paper continued as the independent publication of the Commonweal Group.

Nicoll published an article on the Walsall Anarchists, for which he was sentenced to eighteen months' hard labour in May 1892; H. B. Samuels then became acting editor.