Clive Lewis MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, responding to reports in the Financial Times today that Theresa May is potentially rowing back on her corporate governance plans she announced only last month in her conference speech, said:

“The wheels are clearly starting to come off the Prime Minister’s promise of making the Tories the party for working class people. And it is clear that Theresa May does not have the authority to stand up to her own Cabinet and implement the policies she announced only last month.

“The fact that senior government advisors are briefing national newspapers that the Prime Minister is already back tracking on her own conference speech to her party shows that the Tories shambolic approach to Brexit extends to every aspect of government.

“The Government need to put on record what their plans are on corporate governance, whether or not they intend to row back on this issue.

“Businesses need clarity on this issue, and so do their workforces. Scandals like BHS and Sports Direct can happen because of a failure of weak corporate governance structures. It is time we saw leadership from the Government on this matter.“