The CBI added that it welcomed Conservative initiatives including boosting research and development spending.
Elsewhere, the Investment Association questioned wording in the Tory manifesto implying shareholders would receive a binding annual vote on executive pay at the companies they own, which would be an upgrade on the current three-yearly vote on pay structures.
The Tories pledged a “strict” annual vote, but the IA said this could in fact be an “escalation approach”, where companies that suffer a vote of 25% or more against their executive pay are forced to bring the matter back to shareholders again.
This is the approached favoured by the investment trade body.
“Investors… continue to be frustrated by situations where non-binding remuneration reports are rejected, but there are no further repercussions for companies,” said director of stewardship & corporate governance Andrew Ninian.
“A number of our members are concerned that companies can elect to ignore the dissent of their shareholders, or a significant minority of their shareholders on remuneration issues, which only serves to undermine shareholders’ ability to hold companies to account over excessive or inappropriate pay levels.
“The majority of our members are in favour of an escalation-style approach which specifically targets those companies that have received votes against under the current Remuneration Report.”
