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On Thursday May 5, Londoners cast their votes to determine who would become the capital’s next mayor. Who do you turn to when the fate of the leadership of your home city lies in your hands? Google, of course.
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Thanks to a handy page set up by Google to show the most popular searches around the election period, we’ve got a detailed look at what Londoners want to know.
1. How to vote in the London mayoral election?
2. When is the London mayoral election?
3. Who to vote for London mayor in 2016?
4. Who will win the London mayoral election?
5. Who can vote in the London mayoral election?
When it came to the two frontrunning mayoral candidates, Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith, it’s clear that size really does matter to Londoners. Questions on the two men’s height featured in the top five of both candidates’ searches, while many also inquired about their religious beliefs. Interestingly, policies seem to be the least of Londoners’ concerns, with questions on political leanings and Brexit preferences coming in last.
Top questions on Sadiq Khan in London:
1. How tall is Sadiq Khan?
2. Who is Sadiq Khan?
3. Will Sadiq Khan win?
4. Is Sadiq Khan a Muslim?
5. Is Sadiq Khan left wing?
Top questions on Zac Goldsmith in London:
1. Is Zac Goldsmith Jewish?
2. How old is Zac Goldsmith?
3. How tall is Zac Goldsmith?
4. Who is Zac Goldsmith?
5. Is Zac Goldsmith for Brexit?
As for the other candidates, Londoners were most interested in their marital status (is Sian Berry married?), religion (is George Galloway a Muslim?) and ages (how old is Peter Whittle?). Sadly for poor Caroline Pidgeon, her fourth most searched question is “is there any point in voting for Caroline Pidgeon?”.
Search interest started to pick up from around May 4th at 1 pm, when it appears Londoners might have pondered the future of their city on their lunch hour, or sneaked a quick search in when the boss wasn’t looking. Interest peaked at 6 am on May 6th, when one might assume people woke and tried to find out who was in the lead.
The final result will be announced at some time between 6 pm and 8 pm on Friday.
