Embattled Theresa May loses her two top advisers

Theresa May's co-chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, resigned Saturday, the latest blow to the embattled prime minister after unexpected losses in the election she called hoping to increase her parliamentary majority. Hill and Timothy were blamed by many Tories for their party's poor performance, particularly for their role in crafting a health-care plan that was unpopular among older voters.

May has announced her intention to form a coalition government with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, but pro-Labour protesters have gathered outside Downing Street calling for her resignation while rumblings of dissent are reported within the Conservative Party. "The Conservatives have a long history of unsentimentally sacking their leaders — Margaret Thatcher among them — when they have become more liability than asset," notes The Washington Post's report on the resignations.

Meanwhile, a former top Tory aide named Katie Perrior said Saturday the atmosphere at May's Downing Street is "pretty dysfunctional" and "toxic." "The atmosphere would be great if the chiefs of staff weren't there — and terrible if the chiefs of staff were there," Perrior said of Timothy and Hill, whom she described engaging in "rude, childish behavior."

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