Until this week, the remuneration side of this year’s FTSE 100 reporting season was looking decidedly pedestrian, with deckchairs being shuffled ahead of the 2017 AGM season, when all of the  remuneration policies that were approved at the 2014 AGMs are up for re-approval.

The near 60% vote against the approval of BP’s Directors’ Remuneration Report at their AGM today signals a change in pace.  Ahead of the meeting it was difficult to gauge the real strength of shareholder sentiment:  there were headlines about resistance to a proposed 20% pay hike for the CEO, but in reality there was no salary increase in 2015 or 2016 and the 20% figure was taken from the “single figure” remuneration totals for 2015 and 2014, the difference coming from US pension disclosure.

However, it now seems clear that this is a more fundamental objection to the overall size Bob Dudley’s remuneration package and that places BP on the back foot for discussions with major shareholders on the new policy to be put to the 2017 AGM.