Cable relaxes crackdown on executive pay

Vince Cable is understood to be reconsidering a hard-hitting proposal that would see chief executives face an annual binding vote on their pay and bonuses.

The business secretary is now planning on a vote every three years, according to a report in The Independent. The initial yearly vote had been proposed by Cable in a paper on tackling corporate greed. Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna was quoted in the paper as saying: "It is greatly disappointing that the government is backing down on its proposal for annual binding votes on executive pay." The supposed development follows a "shareholder spring" in which investors revolted against the pay of chief executives at a number of top companies, including Barclays and Aviva. A spo...