The top online search terms surrounding Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May

It seems like people really love Theresa May memes…

Today marks the General Election 2017, a snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May on 18th April.

Announcing the news outside Downing Street, she argued that it would bring greater stability to a country divided over Brexit, insisting, ‘If we do not hold a General Election now, political game-playing will continue’.

Today, after six weeks of campaigning, the Prime Minister will go head to head with Labour's Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrats' Tim Farron, with people across the UK turning out in their thousands to cast their vote – there are even dogs at polling stations.

Judging by recent elections, the result is impossible to call, but what we do know is that a lot of people are voting for the leader in question, rather than for the party itself.

Looking into it further, Hitwise analysed the top 10 search terms around each party leader and they’re pretty revealing.

It seems that controversy is a driving force in terms of people's interest, with the top online searches for Theresa May being her age and fox hunting rather than her manifestos. Jeremy Corbyn's relationship with the IRA dominated his search terms, and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron had far higher searches on his TV interview with Andrew Neil and his views on homosexuality than his political news.

Here’s are the top 10 things people have been searching for around each party leader…

Top 10 Theresa May search terms

1. Age 2.33% 2. Fox hunting 1.76% 3. Meme 1.16% 4. Andrew Neil 1.14% 5. General news 1.06% 6. Debate 1.06% 7. Husband/ wife 1.00% 8. Manifesto 0.64% 9. Polls 0.60% 10. Children 0.48%

Top 10 Jeremy Corbyn search terms

1. IRA 4.09% 2. General News 1.60% 3. Husband/ wife 1.34% 4. Age 1.28% 5. Polls 1.05% 6. Debate 0.79% 7. Meme 0.71% 8. Manifesto 0.50% 9. Andrew Neil 0.48% 10. Marriage 0.41%

Top 10 Tim Farron search terms

1. Andrew Neil 6.03% 2. Homophobia 2.28% 3. Debate 1.20% 4. Meme 0.87% 5. Husband/ wife 0.78% 6. Age 0.39% 7. Fox hunting 0.32% 8. Marriage 0.22% 9. General News 0.16% 10. Children 0.14%

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.