New polling has revealed that passengers across London and the wider commuter belt may be turning against the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling.

This follows the news last week that in the last period Govia Thameslink, which runs Southern and other London commuter services, had the worst performance of any rail operator in more than a decade.

The polling, conducted by Yougov for the Greater London Authority shows that 52 per cent of commuters across London believe that Chris Grayling took the wrong decision and should have given TfL control over the struggling commuter lines.

In general 58 per cent think TfL should have more control of commuter rail lines, with only 5 per cent saying they should have less control.

The new figures come as a cross-party group of MPs wrote to the Prime Minister urging her to review Chris Grayling’s decision. The letter was signed by Conservative MPs Tania Mathias and Bob Neill, Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake and eleven Labour MPs.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Government is failing commuters with a terrible service, constant delays and cancellations while fares are increasing every year.

“Commuters deserve to be able to get to work and back on a reliable train service.

“This polling clearly demonstrates that commuters want the Government to give control of commuter rail lines to TfL, so they can get the more frequent, reliable and affordable service that they deserve.

“Conservative MPs and Councils are also calling on the Government to review the decision taken by Chris Grayling the current Transport Secretary who went back on the previous promise made by his predecessor Patrick McLoughlin.”