John and Mary Archer, also Trotskyists since the 1930s, had split with the SLL in the mid-1960s, disagreeing with its pullout from the Labour Party after 1964, with the exception of a few secret 'deep entrists'.
Harry Vince (an artist)[2] and Ken Stratford had broken with the SLL in the late 1960s, arguing it was becoming a sect increasingly separated from the working class.
a linguist)[3][failed verification] was a French ex-SLL member in St Helens who had organised a group of supporters outside the SLL, including Jean Faugier (now[when?]
Thornett did have meetings with Blick and Jenkins from the Bulletin Group, who reached him via Kate Blakeney (a leading member of the WRP) in Reading and Ray Howells in Swindon.
The initial document upon which the Thornett opposition was founded was in fact co-written by Bulletin Group members, essentially Robin Blick, in consultation with Mark Jenkins and John Archer, but this did not lead to an ongoing political relationship.
Betty Hamilton, Ken Stratford, Regis Faugier and their associates formed a separate British Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International.
This was enlarged in 1981 by a merger with some supporters of Nahuel Moreno from the IMG, including Mike Phipps (now an editorial board member of Labour Left Briefing),[13][failed verification][14] and the SLG affiliated to the Parity Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International when that was formed.
In 1987, all but four of the SLG sided with the wing of the FI-ICR linked to Luis Favre, Camilo Gonzalez,[15] Roch Denis,[16] Carol Coulter[17] and others.
The SLG was briefly part of a Liaison Committee with those (in Brazil, Colombia, Quebec, Ireland, Sweden, Germany and France) who broke with Lambert in 1987.
Mike Calvert (sometimes known as Frank Wainwright) worked closely with John Archer at that time but later had his own differences with the Lambertists and is now associated with Workers Action.