Status
The Union Flag is used as a jack by commissioned warships and submarines of the Royal Navy, such as HMS Victory, and by commissioned Army and Royal Air Force vessels. When at anchor or alongside, it is flown from the jackstaff at the bow of the ship. When a ship is underway, the Union Jack is only flown from the jackstaff when the ship is dressed for a special occasion, such as the Queen's official birthday.
The Union Flag is worn at the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of the Sovereign or an Admiral of the Fleet. It is also worn at the masthead of Her Majesty's Canadian ships within Canadian territorial waters on certain days of the year, such as the Queen's official birthday and Commonwealth Day. The Union Flag may also be flown from the yardarm to indicate that a court-martial is in progress, though these are now normally held at shore establishments.
No law has been passed making the Union Flag the national flag of the United Kingdom: it has become one through precedent. Its first recorded recognition as a national flag came in 1908, when it was stated in Parliament that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag". A more categorical statement was made by the Home Secretary, Sir John Gilmour, in 1933 when he stated that "the Union Jack is the National Flag." But it is still officially a flag of the monarch, rather than the Union.
Civilian use is permitted on land, but non-naval/military use at sea is prohibited. Unauthorised use of the flag in the 17th Century to avoid paying harbour duties – a privilege restricted to naval ships – caused James' successor, Charles I, to order that use of the flag on naval vessels be restricted to His Majesty's ships "upon pain of Our high displeasure." It remains a criminal offence under the Merchant Shipping (Registration, etc.) Act 1993 to display the Union Flag (other than the "Pilot Jack" – see below) from a British ship. Naval ships will fly the white ensign, merchant and private boats can fly the red ensign, others with special permission such as naval yacht clubs can fly the blue ensign. All of the coloured ensigns contain the union flag as part of the design.
The Court of the Lord Lyon, which has legal jurisdiction in heraldic matters in Scotland, confirms that the Union Flag "is the correct flag for all citizens and corporate bodies of the United Kingdom to fly to demonstrate their loyalty and their nationality."
The Union Flag has been in use in Canada dating back to the Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia in 1621. At the close of the Great Canadian Flag Debate of 1964, which resulted in the adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag as Canada's national flag in 1965, the Parliament of Canada voted to make the Union Flag the symbol of Canada's membership of the Commonwealth and its allegiance to the crown. The move was a concession given to conservatives who preferred to keep the old flag, with its Union Flag in the canton. The Royal Union Flag (as it is now known in Canada) is flown alongside the Maple-Leaf Flag on Commonwealth Day and other royal occasions and anniversaries. The Union Flag was also the official flag of the Dominion of Newfoundland (1931–1949) and continued after Newfoundland became a Canadian province (now Newfoundland and Labrador) until 1980.
In Australia, the current national flag gradually replaced the Union Flag. When it formally created the national flag in the Flags Act 1953, section 8 of that Act specified that "this Act does not affect the right or privilege of a person to fly the Union Jack." The Union Flag continued to be used for a period thereafter as a national flag. The current national flag of New Zealand was given official standing under the New Zealand Ensign Act in 1902, but similarly to Australia the Union Flag continued to be used in some contexts as a national flag.
On 5 February 2008, Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell introduced the 'Union Flag Bill' as a private member's bill as a 10-minute bill in the House of Commons. The Bill sought to formalise the position of the Union Flag as the national flag of the UK in law, to remove legal obstacles to its regular display and to officially recognise the name 'Union Jack' as having equal status with 'Union Flag'. However the Bill did not receive its second reading by the end of that parliamentary session.
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