Kemi Badenoch is Ben Stokes to Margaret Thatcher's Ian Botham, according to the milkman's son at the heart of efforts to get Sir Keir Starmer out of Downing Street. Kevin Hollinrake, an entrepreneur who founded the national network of Hunters estate agents, was inspired by Thatcher's rebooting of Britain and insists Mrs Badenoch is the "real deal" who can once again rescue the country.

Mr Hollinrake, 62, was sent out at the age of seven to push a barrow and help with the family's milk deliveries. Today, he is Conservative party chairman and argues Mrs Badenoch is the "only truly authentic leader we have in current day politics".

The cricket fan turns to his beloved sport to describe the impact he believes she will have on the nation.

He says: "We always said when Ian Botham left the cricketing stage, 'When's the next Ian Botham coming along?' Well, you never get another Ian Botham but you do get a Ben Stokes. Kemi is our Ben Stokes."

He insists the Conservatives can score a "decisive victory" at the next election - but only under Mrs Badenoch's leadership.

"People have not seen the best of Kemi yet," he says.

A major challenge for the party is coming in May when elections will be held for the councils and the Welsh and Scottish parliaments. Reform has high ambitions for the Senedd elections in Wales, and a humiliating result for the Conservatives could ignite calls for a change in leadership.

Mr Hollinrake has simple advice to anyone tempted to try and topple yet another Tory leader.

"Don't do it," he says. "We tried that in the past; it didn't work out well."

He says there is "one thing we hear all the time" from donors: "Do not change your leader."

Claiming donors like what they have seen so far of Mrs Badenoch and do not trust any other party on the economy, he says: "Why on earth would we change a leader when that's what people are saying to us? It would just be a massive mistake.

"And besides all that, Kemi is the right person."

Mr Hollinrake lives just a few miles from where he was born and brought up in Easingwold, North Yorkshire. He remembers his father as a "proper Conservative" who "hated the socialism" which had taken root in the Britain of the three-day week.

The Thirsk and Malton MP is appalled by the economic record of Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves so far, and he fears there will be another tax-raising Budget next year.

"They are in a doom loop," he says, adding: "They are going to have come back probably in autumn of next year with another depressing Budget, with [more] floating of lunatic ideas."

Mr Hollinrake speaks with the experience of a business founder who faced the horrors of Black Wednesday in 1992, just two months after starting trading, and another bout of market turmoil in 2007 when "I thought we were going to go bust."

He claims there is "no chance" Labour will deliver on its goal of building 1.5million new homes.

"They just don't understand the whole system runs on confidence," he says.

He quotes a proverb to illustrate the fate that awaits the country if the dream of home ownership dies: "If you don't welcome young people into the village they'll burn it down just to feel its warmth."

The father of four doubts Sir Keir and Ms Reeves will be in post at the time of the next election.

Looking at the jockeying on the Labour benches, he says: "There seem to be plenty of people pitching themselves as alternatives. I don't think Keir Starmer is enjoying it."

A dynamic economy, he argues, hinges on getting the "small business environment right".

"It is our job to make the case for Conservativism and to make the case against socialism because it is so, so damaging," he says.

Mr Hollinrake understands the power of a close-knit team in both business and politics.

"Most of the people we employed played in our local cricket team," he recalls. "They were our mates, they were all really competitive, they all got on with people."

He is impressed by Mrs Badenoch's character as they fight to win back the trust of the electorate.

"When she's under pressure she still manages to keep her composure and sense of humour," he says.

He accidentally put this to the test when, on an early outing at the Commons despatch box, he sat down on Mrs Badenoch's knee.

"She burst into laughter," he remembers. "She thought it was hilarious."

He is confident the more people get to know his boss the more they will like her.

"Before they didn't know who Kemi Badenoch was," he says. "Now they do, so the doorstep is a much better place for us right now."

A key challenge is persuading talented men and women to stand for the Conservatives - and stemming the flow of defectors to Reform UK.

He wants people who share his desire to "conserve what's best about Britain and rectify what's not good about Britain".

"We want people who share proper Conservative values," he explains. "Because that's part of where we went wrong before - we did try to be all things to all people; we can't be that."

Defectors to Reform are "making a big mistake," he claims, adding: "I think Reform's star will fade. Ours is on the rise."

He is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task ahead for his party. But his road to business success featured featured multiple bumps, and he admits to making a "complete mess" of early ventures, which included selling women's clothing and Army surplus gear on market stalls.

Together with Hunters co-founder John Waterhouse he worked seven days a week, pausing just for cricket on a Saturday afternoon. Restoring Conservative fortunes will require no less effort.

He is horrified at the thought of what a Left-wing coalition could do to the country ("It would be terrible") and relishes the opportunity to work for a very different future for Britain.

He says: "Rebuilding that trust is not easy and that takes time but we're on the road."