Corbyn backflips on maximum wage idea
UK Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested imposing a national maximum wage - but was later forced to back down after the idea was widely ridiculed, including by many in his own party.
The backflip came as the idea was branded "totally idiotic" by a former top economic adviser.
Corbyn had told the BBC that "I would like to see some kind of high-earnings cap" to reduce inequality.
He said that it should kick in at a level "somewhat higher" than his own STG138,000 ($A227,728) annual salary.
He also said salaries paid to some company bosses and top sportsmen were "utterly ridiculous".
But after business leaders warned the proposal was a "non-starter", a spokesman said he "misspoke" after being asked about a "cap" during a radio interview.
"If we want to live in a more egalitarian society and fund our public services, we cannot go on creating worse levels of inequality," he said during the interview.
"I would like to see a maximum earnings limit, quite honestly, because I think that would be a fairer thing to do.
"We cannot set ourselves up as being a sort of grossly unequal, bargain-basement economy on the shores of Europe."
The proposal drew a quick reaction, with Conservatives dismissing it and some Labour politicians pointing out that it's not party policy.
Ex-Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member David Blanchflower, a former Corbyn adviser, said that it was a "totally idiotic unworkable idea."
"Corbyn max wage lunatic idea would generate a huge brain drain as smart people move abroad shows how out of touch he is," he wrote on Twitter.
Corbyn later said a better way of curbing executive pay was by controlling the pay ratio between the highest and lowest earners in a company.
