The 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary and the Secret Speech of Nikita Khrushchev to the CPSU criticizing Stalin had a cataclysmic effect on the previously Stalinist majority membership Communist Party. Membership plummeted and the leadership briefly faced a challenge from a loose grouping led by "Daily Worker" editor John Gates, which wished to democratize the party. Perhaps the greatest single blow dealt to the party in this period was the loss of the "Daily Worker", published since 1924, which was suspended in 1958 due to falling circulation.