Politicians can be weathervanes or signposts. To be a signpost is difficult but it is the only way radical changes in society can be made. The greatest achievements of the Labour Party have been when it has moved to the left. Michael Calderbank co-editor of Red Pepper issued a challenge to experts in fields as diverse as National Defence and the Media. He invited them to explain how radical ideas can be presented in a way which appeals to the electorate. The outcome is a realistic strategy that needs to make no compromises in the struggle to achieve a fair and just societyMichael Calderbank' s book the Cost of Living Crisis (published February 2015) was the first to challenge the political consensus that there was no alternative to an austerity programme