Until early 2010 the national flag of the United Kingdom was only flown from the Houses of Parliament when parliament was actually sitting, and when the House rose it was taken down and the flagpole left bare [REF].
This change was marked by a lunchtime reception on Tuesday 22 March 2011 in the River Room, House of Lords, hosted by Alan West, Baron West of Spithead and Andrew Rosindell MP [REF].