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2022 in review

By 03.01.23BlogAugust 30th, 2023No Comments

Read our review of 2022, and a summary of our reports, articles and media coverage below

At this time of year in both 2021 and 2020, the threat of a new Covid variant threatening lives and economic disruption was top of the news agenda.

A year on Covid may no longer be the main story, but the sense of chaos and crisis are still very present.

The Covid lockdowns, war in Ukraine, a productivity crisis and the calamitous Truss budget have combined to leave the UK economy in quite a bad place, with high inflation and low wage growth meaning we are facing the biggest drop in living standards on record.

This makes it unsurprising that this December we are seeing the biggest strikes for a generation, as workers across sectors, particularly in the public sector (whose wages have been hit the hardest in recent years) call for inflation busting pay rises, all while the government refuses to support negotiations.

Our work on inequality and high pay, however, shows that the pain is not being felt equally across the economy, as CEO pay has more than bounced back after a brief period during the pandemic when the gap between CEO and worker pay shrunk.

Meanwhile the number of billionaires in the UK is still growing, and calls for increasing taxes on wealth continue to make news headlines and resonate with the general public.

But if Jeremy Hunt’s recently announced reforms to the City are anything to go by, which includes removing the cap on bankers’ bonuses, serious action on tackling inequality is unlikely to be high up on the government’s agenda in the new year.

Publications

Blogs and OpEds 

The U.K. is facing another ‘winter of discontent’ by Harry Window

British workers deserve to share in the profits of British business by Janet Williamson, Luke Hildyard and Matthew Lawrence

Capping CEO pay is the best way to make the UK more equal by Luke Hildyard

The failure of ‘shareholder democracy’ by Andrew Speke

BP and Shell windfall tax row reveals lack of progress on purpose by Luke Hildyard

ESG and how to improve workforce reporting by Rachel Kay

CEO pay incentives reflect board priorities—and it’s still shareholder returns by Luke Hildyard

High Pay Centre in the media 

Reading the Rich List: HPC analysis of the wealthiest households in Britain our reflections on this year’ rich list and coverage of our reaction to it from the Guardian, the Mirror and LBC

A budget for the 1% as government scraps the cap on bankers bonuses – Our reaction to the Truss/Kwarteng mini-budget including Luke on BBC News and over coverage in the Guardian,  Daily Mail and Huffington Post

Biggest banker bonuses announced since financial crash –  Media coverage of our reaction to spiking bankers bonuses including from the Guardian, the Times, Daily Mail and Luke on the Evening Standard’s podcast

Prospect Magazine Cover Story: HPC pay ratio research – Our research on pay ratios featuring on the front page of Prospect’s November edition, including a feature piece from our founder Deborah Hargreaves and Luke discussing our research on Prospect’s podcast.