I thought it was clear enough.

The questions were sent to each party in the poll, hence "your party" was the correct terminology.

The individual party responses were shown and each member who wished to could choose the party whose answer was their favourite.

As the advert goes "simples"!

My only concern was that the largest national party, UKIP, was excluded so the poll is not representative!

Oops, largest UK national party NOT represented in the poll!

Hi Mike

Not sure about about "sensible safety - vote David", well I am acually, not with wild horses and red-hot pokers.

As for H&S being a small fish in a big pond - you may be right, but much of that is because we don't kill, maim and poison many people in the workplace anymore. Now all we have to do is answer the question: How did we manage to reduce deaths, injuries and ill health? It certainly wasn't due to a sudden outbreak of humanitarianism and altruism among employers...

When I was studying for H&S qualifications it was apparent how H&S safety legislation was greatly biased towards employees working in manufacturing industry (and for very good reasons). It was particularly noticeable to me as I work in the mostly self-employed leisure industry and kept having to find ways to interpret legislation to my situation. The considerable improvement I have seen in the accident stats for large scale outdoor public events has little to do with a change in the type of work, and a lot to do with the change of culture within the industry. And I expect many other ‘fringe’ areas of activity, of which I know little, have also come inside ‘the safety tent’.

When I started in the music business in the early 1970s people died on the road quite regularly. The died from electrocution, any number of poor working practices including incorrect use of (often improvised) work equipment, or the effects of a relaxed attitude to drungs and drinking at work. One major killer was road deaths, often caused by outrageous tour planning with gigs in Cornwall one day, Glasgow the next and back to London on the third – anyone remember the band Asleep at the Wheel? Many of these insane practices have stopped now as the industry has been gathered into the fold of those that take safety seriously and apply the legislation. It is now quite common for bands doing the stadium touring circuit to have safety officers overseeing the get-ins and get-outs. And most venues have strict H&S regimes. Many of my former colleagues, long since dead, would have hated it, but might still be around - albeit as sad old rockers.

So I doubt the overall improvement can all be put down to the decline of manufacturing industry and a move to lower-risk jobs, though that will obviously account for some of it. I would have thought that the massive increase in the use of electrical equipment, road travel, increased pressure to reach targets, more entrepreneurs, more cowboys, short term profit , incoming labourers from countries with lower safety standards etc. would have helped push the accident rate up again. The sensible application of H&S legislation helps keep these other negative forces in check. We reduce the importance of coming home alive from work at our peril. Here endeth the sermon (maybe…)

I really hope that people on here have the sense to take into consideration more than just H&S politics when they vote.

As it happens I would appear to disagree with majority of the people who have voted on these IOSH polls. Nothing new there then!