The term "Shareholder Spring" implies a comparison with Arab countries thought to have a cultural aversion or other barriers to Western-style democracy.

Popular uprisings showed otherwise and now British shareholders are just as surprisingly flexing their muscles to uphold shareholder democracy.

Why the change? In rising markets, short-term investors and speculators could ignore the niceties of AGMs and vote with their feet and sell underperforming companies. Several crashes later and investor uncertainty is expressed in the ballot box, driven by concern that shareholders are paying a steep price for unchecked managerial excess. Would Fred Goodwin have walked away with such a handsome pay-off if shareholders had been more involved?

Investors are waking up to the need to link pay and performance. Government is also intervening with Business Secretary Vince Cable proposing stronger rights for shareholders to hold directors to account over their payments for failure or mere mediocrity.

Why does this matter to readers on average salaries with modest savings? It matters a great deal because it's your money that's being invested and it's your money that needs protecting. People have strong views but the system makes it difficult for them to express them without guidance.

Here's how you can make yourself heard in the world of big business.

If you own shares the old-fashioned, "certificated" way then you are in a strong position. You should be sent the voting cards or emails pointing you to the relevant website, in which case you are good to go and either attend the meeting to vote in person or send your cards to be counted at the meeting.

If you own shares through an ISA or share dealing account check to see if you have the right to vote. If you are with one of the big-name organisations your shares will probably be owned through a "Crest pooled nominee" (Crest is the electronic system of settlement for the equities market), which means you can't vote directly. You could ask your provider if they will allow you to have your own Crest account. Failing that, ask them to accept your instructions and vote in proportion to your holdings. While not an elegant solution it is better than nothing at all.

Many savers opt to invest through "pooled" or "wrapped" products where their ownership is one step removed. All is not lost, however, if you want to take a "responsible investment" approach to your nest egg.

Responsible investment is possible through "ethical exclusion funds", or funds which stress that they take AGM voting seriously. An IFA who understands responsible investment issues will tell you what to look out for: search for "Responsible IFA" to get started, otherwise do your own research and look at your fund provider's website for terms like "stewardship code" or "corporate governance". The best fund houses have complete disclosure of their policy and voting records for you to judge.

If you like what your fund manager is doing in terms of stock picking but you don't think they're on top of governance you can write to challenge them, or move your money to a house which gives evidence of being a leader in the field.

Sarah Wilson is managing director of Manifest, a corporate governance advisory body