A COUNCIL leader has renewed demands for the Government to strip Southern rail of their franchise.

Brighton and Hove City Council's Warren Morgan's plea came as another council leader issued a call for help to the Transport Secretary.

Cllr Warren Morgan said: "The Government should step in, stop rewarding Govia Thameslink for failure, end the harm being done to the city's economy and stop the misery being inflicted on commuters."

Meanwhile the leader of West Sussex County Council, Louise Goldsmith, wrote to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling before Christmas to highlight the "huge detrimental effect" of rail strikes on the county.

The issue, which she described as "serious and pressing", was also raised by members of all political parties at a recent meeting of full council at County Hall, Chichester.

In her letter, sent on December 22, cllr Goldsmith references a recent University of Chichester study which estimated that the cost of the RMT and ASLEF union strikes could be as much as £396 million this year.

She said: “One of this council’s three key priorities is the development and support to our economy and I am deeply concerned about the long term economic impact that this strike is now having in the county and on the attractiveness of the county for future business given the reliance upon sound infrastructure.

“My request, or should I say plea, is very simple and very clear - to find a solution as quickly as possible in the New Year and to resolve the situation in order to support West Sussex working effectively again for our residents, our businesses and our national economy.”

East Sussex County Council has not made a similar request but other regional politicians and pressure groups have responded more quickly or with more specific demands.

On the other side of the county, members of the Eastbourne chamber of commerce wrote to the Department for Transport back in August. Members said: “We write with regard to the proposed five day strike on Southern Rail and to express our concern at the deteriorating service being provided by GTR across the network.”

Hove MP Peter Kyle said in December: "People rightly ask me, 'what are you doing?' It's a good question. In the last fortnight I've written to the Prime Minister, spoken in the Commons, met the rail minister twice, and chaired a meeting of the group I set up with Sir Nicholas Soames that includes every MP in the Southern commuter area."