May's two chiefs of staff quit as she tries to placate the Cabinet

Theresa May’s two chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have resigned. The pair have good claim to be the most powerful special advisers in British political history, their hold on Mrs May was even greater than that of Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell on Tony Blair. Yesterday, one Tory who knows the trio well wondered whether May would be able to function without them. But May will now have to.

If Timothy and Hill had stayed, it would have prompted a leadership challenge. A growing number of Cabinet Ministers have been clear since Thursday night that the departure of her chiefs of staff was required if Mrs May was to stay in office. The Cabinet resented both their power and their manner, they did little to disguise who they thought was really in charge. Hill was an abrasive figure, who revelled in not being charming. While Timothy’s cleverness could tip over into intellectual arrogance at times.