[General] Rag, Tag and Bobtail army ?

[thedaffodils]

Hi! I am reading an article about Gordon Brown by a columnist from Daily Mail.

Q1: Rag, Tag and Bobtail army =?

Q2: What does 'carbon footprint' refer to?

Q3: Why does the columnist mention "the West Midlands" here?

Today, he attempted to disguise his contempt for the paying public by venturing out of his bunker and holding a Cabinet meeting in Birmingham. What was that all about?

How does having his Rag, Tag and Bobtail army trample their carbon footprints all over the West Midlands help anyone?

It's supposed to prove that he's 'listening'. Some hope. Gordon may be blind in one eye, but he's deaf in both ears when it comes to public opinion.

In the morning he pitched up at the Jaguar car factory, turned on his unnerving, insincere grin and attempted to bask in the reflected glory of his fellow Scot, Andy Murray - a young man who says he has no desire to be seen as 'British' and, just like Gordon, makes no attempt to conceal his contempt for the English majority.
Clearly, Brown has no sense of the ridiculous.

Here's the URL link of the article.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...dont-care.html

[Anglika]

Q1: Rag, Tag and Bobtail army =? In this context it is suggesting that his !"army" is very second-rate and of poor quality. See here for a discussion of this phrase: Rag, tag and bobtail

Q2: What does 'carbon footprint' refer to? The amount of carbon emissions resulting from your activities. The larger the footprint, the worse for the environment.

Q3: Why does the columnist mention "the West Midlands" here? Because that is where the TUC [Trades Union Council] annual conference is being held - in Birmingham which is in the West Midlands.

[thedaffodils]

Hi Anglika,

Thank you very much for your help. I'm sorry I should have searched the phrase-rag,tag and bobtail via Google by myself first.