§ 36. Mr. John Arbuthnotasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will take action to ensure that proxy forms sent out by companies are so framed that they give the shareholder the opportunity of indicating which way he wishes to vote; and, when there is more than one resolution, that the shareholder can vote for one resolution and against another.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftA form of two-way proxy is set out in paragraph 71 of Table A of the Companies Act, 1948, but its use is optional and we have no power to insist on its adoption. The Cohen Committee, on whose recommendations the Act is based, thought it advisable not to deal with this matter by legislation but to leave it to be regulated by the Stock Exchange.
The Stock Exchange has for some years imposed suitable requirements on companies seeking permission to deal, but 556 these requirements apply only to companies which have applied for such permission since the requirements were imposed and the company which I understand my hon. Friend has in mind is not one of them. Where the two-way proxy form is used, the practice normally is to take account of the point referred to in the last part of the Question.