At 7ft 2in to her 5ft 4in - it was lofty praise indeed for Kemi Badenoch! 

Photos show 22-year-old James McAlpine congratulating the Tory leader after she delivered a barnstorming speech to close the Conservative conference in Manchester.

Dubbed the 'tallest Conservative in Britain', the Scottish-born Oxford Brookes University student became a social media star after partying his way around high society events such as the Cheltenham Festival. 

But as a proud 'Tory boy', he has serious political ambitions to represent the party as a councillor or an MP. 

His height - which by breaking through the 7ft threshold means he fits the medical definition of a giant - made him easy to spot among the party faithful gathered in Manchester.

Both he and Ms Badenoch were beaming as they shook hands following her set piece speech.  

Last night, Mr McAlpine attended the Margaret Thatcher disco at Manchester bar Cloud 23, where he used an interview to hit out against Labour's hated Family Farm Tax. 

'I never get annoyed about people asking about my height - and I don't get worried about any health issues I might get because of it,' he told the Daily Star. 

'I'm worrying about real things that matter, like the issue of food security in and among British farmers, and the preservation of the countryside, which is being pelted by Labour.'

The student was referring to Labour's plan to apply a 20 per cent tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1million from April 2026.

He has previously generated social media attention after being spotted at everything from Ascot to Henley and the Highland Show.

One clip of him at Cheltenham generated more than four million views. 

Mr McAlpine watched on today as Ms Badenoch issued a rally cry to Tories - insisting only they can 'save Britain'.

She told activists that only the 'competent' Tories and their 'timeless principles' can roll back the 'darkest days' of 'decline', by stabilising the economy and overhauling society's 'broken model'.

She said a clampdown on benefits and wasteful spending would mean Labour's hated taxes could be scrapped - including VAT on private school fees and the farm inheritance tax raid. 

Ms Badenoch said Motability vehicles would no longer be available to people with ADHD.

And in a huge retail offer to voters she said stamp duty would be ditched altogether to revive the dream of home ownership. The party is proposing an end to the charges for primary residences, amounting to a £4.5billion tax cut.

Mrs Badenoch contrasted her tough approach on spending and benefits with Reform's platform of 'free' giveaways. Tories believe that Mr Farage's efforts to move into Labour territory have opened ground for them.

'Stamp duty is a bad tax', she said. 'We must free up our housing market, because a society where no one can afford to buy or move is a society where social mobility is dead.'

She said she had looked at options for changing thresholds for stamp duty and decided it was not enough.

'The next Conservative government will abolish stamp duty on your home,' she said.

Aides were jubilant about the performance, following fears that Mrs Badenoch's first conference speech might be her last with local elections looming in May.

One Tory veteran said that potential leadership rivals like Robert Jenrick had been put 'back in the box'.

As the Tories try to show they are still relevant amid dire polls and Reform's surge: