House of Commons – Feb. 3, 2015

That this House notes that the average FTSE 100 CEO is now paid 143 times as much as their average employee; recalls that as recently as 1998 this ratio was only 47 to 1; further notes that in some cases in the UK this ratio is now as high as 800 to 1; is aware that this is happening at a time when average wages are little better than stagnant; is concerned that such inequality damages the social fabric and indeed democracy itself; believes that such inequalities, which have only recently developed, have no economic justification; further notes that the High Pay Centre has called for a debate on more radical measures to address the widening income discrepancy in the UK, including introducing a maximum pay ratio and appointing workers' representatives to company boards; commends Switzerland for offering its people a vote, in November 2013, on capping executive pay at 12 times what the lowest-paid worker at a company received; and urges the Government to consider measures that would reduce such gross inequalities in the future.