14 May, 2021

UK’s draft new governance code has a social mission

This week saw the release of a new draft code for UK corporate governance. While many were distracted by measures on executive pay, the code’s real mission is social “injustices”, as highlighted by Theresa May last year.

Theresa May. Photo: Frederic Legrand - COMEO / Shutterstock.com

There were no big condemnations, no one cried foul; the release of the Financial Reporting Council’s revised corporate governance code passed this week relatively smoothly. There will be those who find it problematic, but the public reception, at least, provided a mix of welcomes with suggestions that it could have gone further in some areas. That there were no stormy declarations of a code gone wrong is probably down to the fact that this is a consultation document, so there is still much to play for. Plus there was clear evidence that the code has taken on some big themes: corporate culture, the fact that companies should be working fo

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corporate governance, Financial Reporting Council, High Pay Centre, long term value, responsible business, short-termism, social justice, Theresa May, TUC, UK Corporate Governance Code