Fat Cat Mentality Persists, Shareholders Must Get Off Their Backsides

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 10th Oct 2003

Commenting on reports that Executive pay in the UK has risen by 288% in the last decade, and 17% in the last year, Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow DTI spokesman, said: "All people expect is that everybody receives a fair wage for their work. But this survey suggests, in the context of stock market price falls, that executives are getting massive pay rises regardless of performance."

"A successful business needs everybody pulling in the same direction, not setting them against each other. Such a huge difference between worker and executive pay rises just puts ordinary people's backs up and widens the gulf between those who work and those who direct."

"It is encouraging that the trend is slowing down, but the fat cat mentality still persists and shows the need for progressive reform in Patricia Hewitt's current review of executive pay."

"We shouldn't regulate individual pay levels, nor set salary limits. We must make sure shareholders get off their backside and deal with excessive rewards."

"Institutional shareholders, in particular, should be made accountable for their votes in annual meetings and public the way they vote."