The Church of England plans to use its £3 billion voting clout to tackle excessive City bonuses as it seeks to reignite last year’s “shareholder spring”. The Church, which holds a significant amount of its £8 billion assets as shares in companies, said it will challenge the City’s bonus entitlement culture by rejecting soaring director pay deals as the annual meeting season gets under way. Its new policy is based on Christian principles, but the Church acknowledged there is “no direct Biblical guidance” on executive remuneration. James Featherby, chairman of the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group, said: “We want to see lower annual bonuses and greater emphasis on rewarding executives who manage ethical, social and environmental issues well and so deliver enduring corporate success.”