Did Google predict the BNP’s election victory?

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, was elected to the European parliament. The far-right leader together with another BNP politician, Andrew Brons, became the first leaders from the party elected as Members of the European Parliament. After the announcement, there were furious scenes. The highest polling candidate referred to the BNP as “an aberration” while condemning Griffin’s success as a sad day for British politics. Labour’s Arlene McCarthy noted the BNP was “a party whose members include convicted rapists.”

Notably, the voters seemed to have ruined the 65th anniversary of D-Day by forgetting the sacrifices of the soldiers who died fighting against the Nazis.

Data from Google Insights from Search has now revealed a possible foresight of the results. According to search results, the party initials BNP had been widely used compared to other parties. The search results reveal a high popularity rate, especially within some regions.

For instance, Google Insights noted the BNP was extremely popular in areas like Sheffield, Manchester, Poplar, Birmingham, Brentford, and Milton Keynes. The top two cities including Sheffield and Manchester lie in areas where the BNP won the parliamentary seats, Yorkshire and Humber, and the NorthWest.

Political analysts should have noted that people within the two areas were gaining significant interest in the BNP. The Google data covers the two cities and the two constituencies. BNP supporters were heard shouting back at critics noting that the win represented the democratic environment in British politics. BNP leaders noted that the previous regimes consisted of a “liberal elite” who had stopped the ordinary citizen from acting out their freedom.

The BNP leaders also took advantage of the popularity in the NorthWest and Yorkshire to highlight the hate and lies against the party. According to the Google Insight data, the win should have been foreseen by considering the growing popularity in these areas and the dwindling support for other parties in the area.