TORY PARTY SPOKESPERSON SAYS MAY HAS JUST 6 MONTHS IN DOWNING STREET BUT TWO THIRDS OF PARTY MEMBERS THINK SHE SHOULD RESIGN NOW

Theresa May was today set to name the rest of her top team as a bitter civil war threatened to engulf her party.

The PM has positions to fill in her government after a humiliating election in which the Conservatives shed seats as Labour made stunning gains across the country.

In London, two ministers were ousted in Battersea and Croydon Central as blue constituencies turned red.

Eight MPs short of a majority, Mrs May now has limited room for manoeuvre after her presidential-style campaign left senior figures keen to pin the blame on the party leader.

Amid reports that senior Tories were sounding out potential replacements for Mrs May, prominent Conservative MP Heidi Allen said the Prime Minister had six months at most left in Downing Street.

Former minister Anna Soubry called on Mrs May to sack her joint chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, after she complained about their central roles in the campaign.

The PM has already confirmed that key names will keep their jobs in her new government, which is set to be propped up by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

After speculation the PM would use a solid win in the election to move Philip Hammond from the Treasury, he and other potential successors as Tory leader, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, remained in place.

With Brexit Secretary David Davis and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon also staying put, there were suggestions changes could just centre on replacing the eight ministers who lost their seats as the Tory Commons tally fell to 318.

Mrs May’s decision to seek a deal with the DUP, and the role of her two closest advisers in the faltering election campaign drew criticism in Tory ranks.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that almost two thirds of Conservative Party members believe Theresa May should resign and trigger a leadership contest as the Prime Minister looks to shore up her minority Government by appointing ministers to her new Cabinet today.

A snap survey conducted by the Conservative Home website revealed that 60 per cent of party members believe Mrs May should quit while just 37 per cent of the 1,500 members who took part said she should stay in post.

Mrs May has been left clinging onto power after a disastrous set of general election results which saw her party lose its majority with senior Tories believed to be taking soundings over whether she needs to be replaced. Party sources suggested Boris Johnson, Amber Rudd and David Davis were being sounded out as possible replacements.

Mrs May has refused to quit despite calls from her opponents as members of her own party criticised her campaign and suggested she should consider her position.

The Conservatives finished the election with 318 seats, eight short of the 326 needed for a majority, and she is now pursuing a deal with the hard-line Democratic Unionist Party and its 10 MPs to ensure she can pass legislation through a hostile House of Commons.