The basic pay of most employees is governed by industrial and professional norms, and is relatively stable over time when inflation adjustments are factored in. Almost unbelievably, today’s average hourly wage has the same buying power as it did 45 years ago.

By contrast, executive remuneration in the largest companies is determined far more subjectively, for the most part beyond the remit of auditors. The key role belongs to remuneration committees, whose own members’ rewards are equally subject to annual review, suggesting that any claim to objectivity in their deliberations should not be taken too seriously.

Our prime minister, Theresa May, emphasises the ‘need to address the economic inequalities that have emerged in recent years’, but her appeal risks superficiality unless given sharper focus: recently released statistics show that the gap in real incomes between richest and poorest households is steadily narrowing.

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