NO disrespect, but the parliamentary ambitions of John Cotton, the 32-year-old yachting enthusiast chosen by the Conservatives to challenge Home Secretary Jack Straw at the next general election, seem to be floundering at the start.

For if, by way of credentials as Blackburn's potential MP, he is reduced to claiming that living in Oxfordshire gives him a geographic association with tenure of the seat -- in that Mr Straw and his predecessor, Barbara Castle, also have homes in that neck of the woods, albeit some 15 and 10 miles away respectively -- then it is as well that he is, as he confesses, under no illusions as to what a hard task he has taken on. Let's be frank--- and neutral -- facing a Labour majority of nearly 14,500 last time, any Tory candidate standing in Blackburn would need more swing than Glenn Miller to have a hope of making a mark. And with just some four years' membership of the party and fewer than 14 months as a district councillor in South Oxfordshire by way of political experience -- in contrast to the 21 years that Cabinet minister Mr Straw has spent at Westminster -- a comparative novice like Mr Cotton is, surely, likely to need even more still.

But if he is under no illusion about the difficulty he faces, why should Blackburn's voters be under any illusion about him?

His challenge to Mr Straw can, after all, only be a token one on the part of the town's Tories who started off desperately touting for a popular local personality to come forward and, it would appear, have ended up with their desperation endorsed by choosing a stranger with a chance as slim as his experience.

Meantime, Mr Cotton ought to enjoy the ride and draw comfort from the fact that ending up as runner-up to Jack Straw will look good on his CV-- which, if I am under no illusion, may be the extent of his parliamentary ambitions so far.