George Ranken Askwith did not found the Middle Class Union. He became the President when it was re-organised under the name the National Citizen's Union in 1921 and attempted to attract a wider membership. "The Times" (6 March 1919) gives no mention of his name or that of his wife at the founding meeting in 1919. John Pretyman Newman was one of the founders and became its first Chairman, a position he resigned when he was elected Vice-President on 9 July 1922. Speaking at the meeting when the MCU was relaunched as the National Citizens Union in 1921 Askwith rather pointedly said "the Union supported the maintenance of representative government and would oppose direct action for political purposes" ("The Times", 19 December 1921). Clearly the re-launch of the MCU under a new name had entailed some hard thinking on the part of its Council.