Top aides to Theresa May resign after disastrous election results

Two top aides to British Prime Minister Theresa May have resigned amid calls for her own resignation, the Telegraph reported Saturday.

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Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, May’s joint chiefs of staff, resigned Saturday after facing heavy criticism for their role in the Conservatives’ disastrous election campaign, which saw them losing their majority thanks to a groundswell of support for the Labour Party and their leader Jeremy Corbyn. 

May’s party had a net loss of 12 seats in Thursday’s election, which May called in April in order to bolster her majority status and secure a stronger mandate to begin Brexit negotiations.

“The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate,” Corbyn told The Guardian. “Well the mandate she’s got is lost Conservative [Party] seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that is enough for her to go, actually.”

The Conservatives had 330 seats in parliament before the snap election compared to 229 for Labour. A party must control 326 to have a majority. 

In a statement on the website Conservative Home, Timothy said he took “full responsibility” for his role in the defeat, but blasted “bizarre media reports” about his role in the election campaign.

“I chose not to rebut these reports as they were published, as to have done so would have been a distraction for the campaign,” Timothy said. “But I take responsibility for the content of the whole manifesto, which I continue to believe is an honest and strong programme for government.”