As Boris Johnson wakes up to his first full day as Prime Minister, the North Shropshire MP who backed his bid has said he has a "tremendously positive vision" for the country's future.

Owen Paterson MP exclusively told the Oswestry Advertizer that he believes Mr Johnson will unite the Conservative Party and was pleased to hear him confirm his intention for the UK to part ways with the European Union on October 31.

But he also said the new PM's plans will provide a boost for his North Shropshire constituency.

Mr Paterson, who brought Mr Johnson to Gobowen and Ellesmere earlier this month to meet with Conservative Party members and members of the public, said: "Boris Johnson’s first speech outside 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister set out his tremendously positive vision for the future of the United Kingdom and had a very clear sense of purpose.

"He won the Conservative leadership election resoundingly thanks to his promises to deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Corbyn. On the first pledge, he recognised in his speech yesterday that the referendum result in June 2016 was a 'fundamental decision' by the British people so that their laws could be made 'by people who they can elect and they can remove from office'.

"But beyond his enormously important clarity on Brexit and the opportunities to innovate which we can grasp as a result, there was a great deal else in Boris’s speech that will be good news for people in North Shropshire. Boris has promised to address the current appalling imbalance between urban and rural school funding to ensure that every child – regardless of where he or she lives – can receive the best start in life.

"Boris has also pledged to improve mobile and broadband services in rural areas. Almost everyone in North Shropshire will have experienced the frustration of patchy, unreliable telephone signals or ludicrously slow internet speeds. But far from being just an inconvenience, poor coverage severely holds back business and, by leaving people cut off, can have serious consequences for people’s wellbeing. Guaranteeing ultra-fast broadband to every premises by 2025 will rectify these problems and energise the rural economy.

"He understands the concerns of the sheep industry which is so important in Shropshire, and has pledged that agricultural support will continue. Whatever the Brexit outcome, Boris will ensure that UK farming will be “ready and waiting to continue selling ever more not just here but around the world.”

"These are key priorities for rural areas.

"Boris’s message and energy will be incredibly popular. He can now unite the Conservative Party and the country to make his optimistic vision a reality."

It was confirmed on Monday that Mr Johnson would be the new leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore the next Prime Minister, after beating Jeremy Hunt in a ballot by party members with a 66.4 per cent share of the vote.

However, his first day in office was controversial as protestors attempted to block his journey to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, while the Labour Party called for a General Election.