Albert Manifold arrived at BP’s annual meeting with a share price up more than a third in seven months yet faced an embarrassing revolt as over 18 percent rejected his reelection. The oil group blocked a Follow This resolution demanding a plan for declining fossil fuel demand, insisting submissions must comply with rules, while proxy Glass Lewis accused the board of withholding legal detail and urged votes against the chair. BP now confronts a second year of shareholder anger after Helge Lund’s predecessor revolt and outright defeats on governance votes that expose deep doubts about openness.

Shareholders rejected management plans to drop climate disclosures approved by over 98 percent in 2015 and 2019 and to hold online-only meetings, while more than a quarter backed a call for tighter scrutiny of oil and gas capital returns. Manifold’s “relentless focus on simplification” collided with demands for accountability as investors signalled that streamlining cannot erode standards. The dissent reflects fatigue with boards that sideline questions and risk trading transparency for speed in an era of heightened governance expectations.

The UK has cut its aid budget to 0.3 percent of GNI from 0.7 percent pre-pandemic, pivoting from donor to investor as it presses multilateral lenders to plug gaps. British International Investment pledged £7 billion in deployments that will mobilise £6 billion in private capital, targeting least-developed countries and African financial channels. Concrete allocations will test whether public funds crowd out private risk-takers or catalyse development that markets alone would ignore.