Ministers have issued new guidance ordering the Union flag to be flown every day from UK Government buildings.
Currently, Union flags are only required to be flown on designated days but new rules issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will see the flag flown all year round.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said it would be a “proud reminder of our history”.
He said: “The Union flag unites us as a nation and people rightly expect it to be flown above UK Government buildings.
“This guidance will ensure that happens every day, unless another flag is being flown, as a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us.”
Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick MP added: “Our nation’s flag is a symbol of liberty, unity and freedom that creates a shared sense of civic pride.
“People rightly expect to see the Union flag flying high on civic and government buildings up and down the country, as a sign of our local and national identity.
“That’s why I am calling on all local councils to fly the Union flag on their buildings – and today’s guidance will enable them to do that.
“We’ve also cut red tape, allowing councils to also fly their county flag at the same time.”
Local identity
DCMS have said where organisations have two flagpoles, they can fly the Union flag alongside another flag.
DCMS said: “This will allow organisations to highlight their local identity alongside their national identities; for example, by flying a Middlesex county flag alongside the Union flag in London, or the Saltire alongside the Union flag in Scotland”.
Other flags may also be flown on non-designated days, including a Saint’s Day or county day.
The Thick Of It
Responding to the plan, SNP MP Mhairi Black said: “This idea seems to have been inspired by Tory ministers watching an episode of The Thick Of It, rather than a serious government.
“If the Tories think an overload of Union Jacks on buildings is the answer to promote the strength of the union, then it shows how thin the case for the union is. Flags won’t undo the poverty and hardship the Tories have created over the last decade.”