The organisation also created an anti-Catholic group, the Council for the Investigation of Vatican Influence and Censorship, which was led by Jack White.
The failure of this approach to increase the membership or influence of the organisation led it, in 1941, to adopt a new name, the Socialist Vanguard Group, with an orientation towards supporting sympathetic figures in the Labour Party.
[1] The group decided that the key priority was to influence foreign policy, and in particular to counter support for the Soviet Union on the British left.
[1] Rita Hinden, secretary of the Fabian Colonial Bureau, joined the group in 1947, despite opposing its positions on democracy and vegetarianism.
This enabled Phillips to write a letter to Labour groups, recommending that they purchase the newspaper, and boosted its circulation to 4,000 an issue, with contributors including Herbert Morrison, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Denis Healey.
This had some initial success, as Fred Mulley agreed to become its treasurer, and Jim Griffiths served as honorary president, but membership peaked at only 102.