Monday 16 January 2012

UK: Deputy Prime Minister on "responsible capitalism"

The Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP, delivered a speech in London today in which he reflected on "responsible capitalism" and argued that shareholders should "behave like business owners rather than absentee landlords": see here. In addition to the introduction of a binding vote on executive pay for shareholders - the proposals for which will be published next week by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - Mr Clegg stated that the Government intends to "overhaul the way shareholders – and others – can access information". This was necessary, he argued, because "Often, the reason investors are passive is because they can’t see the reasons to act". Mr Clegg also announced a Government review into what can be done to encourage greater employee share ownership and, in this regard, mooted the idea of giving employees a "right to request" shares.

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