Theresa May's executive pay plans backed by Fidelity, one of the UK's biggest fund managers

Fidelity had first called for an annual binding vote in 2012

Fidelity said three years ago that it would start voting against executive pay plans unless those executives were forced to hold company shares (Fidelity)

Theresa May's executive pay plans have been backed by Fidelity, one of the UK's biggest fund managers with £188.8bn of assets under management globally.

Dominic Rossi, global chief investment officer of equities, said Fidelity had first called for an annual binding vote in 2012.

“Extending shareholder powers even further will add significant moment to our effeorts to better align executive pay rewards with shareholder interests,” he said.

Ms May has proposed making shareholder votes on executive pay binding, rather than advisory, as well as putting workers on the boards of companies to give them more control over company policy.

This was an extension of earlier legislation introduced by former Business Secretary Vince Cable forcing companies to hold legally binding votes on future pay policies every three years.

Ms May had also proposed more transparency about bonuses and for companies to reveal the ratio between chief executive pay and the pay of the average worker.

Fidelity said three years ago that it would start voting against executive pay plans unless those executives were forced to hold company shares for more than three years before cashing them in.

Just four companies on the FTSE 100 had holding periods of five years or more in 2013, with periods of between three a five years for another 13, it said.

Increasing the length of the holding period gives executives better investment in the success of the compny in the long term.

Executive pay has more than trebled since 1998, which the FTSE is trading at broadly the same levels.

Shareholders have turned against pay at the top this year. In April, BP shareholders have voted against chief executive Bob Dudley's £14 million pay deal for 2015.

Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, got to keep his £70.4m pay package, including a £62.8m long-term bonus despite opposition from a third of shareholders at the firm’s annual general meeting last month.