Top 20 LinkedIn Creators in the UK (2026)

What changed in the UK's top 20 LinkedIn creators since our last ranking

The pool is bigger this time, even with the new activity rule: 1,058 active UK creators, against 681 in our previous edition.

Four names are new in this top 20: Steven Bartlett enters at #1, Andy Burnham at #3, Olawale Kolawole at #17 and Dr Julie Smith at #19.

Rob Dance, our previous #1, moves to #2. The biggest climber is Jyothish Nair, from #19 to #10, ahead of Mati Staniszewski (#15 to #8) and Tom Pestridge (#20 to #13).

Four creators from our previous top 20 are no longer in it.

#20 · Stuart Machin, 700 median likes

Stuart Machin is the chief executive of M&S. His Retail posts earn a 1,058 median, about twice his Fashion posts (537), and he holds the lowest median comment count in the top 20. His yearly median went from 1,006 in 2025 to 823 so far in 2026.

"Seven years ago, when I joined M&S to run our Food business, we built the blueprint to modernise our Food stores, starting at Clapham St John’s Road." His most liked post of the year: 3,008 likes. Read it

#19 · Dr Julie Smith, 702 median likes

Dr Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist and bestselling author, new in this edition. She posts the least of anyone in the top 20, and her yearly median barely moves: 653 in 2024, 671 in 2025, 671 so far in 2026.

Her Psychology posts (787 median) lead her Mental Health posts (572); for more names in that field, see our ranking of the top LinkedIn psychology creators.

"We rarely see loneliness for the psychological emergency that it is. But I have come to believe that we need to address it with the same seriousness as depression." Her most liked post of the year: 1,391 likes, about twice her median. Read it

#18 · Chris Donnelly, 703 median likes

Chris Donnelly, co-founder of Searchable.com, is the fifth-biggest account in our UK data, yet sits 18th, on a 0.06% engagement rate, the lowest of the top 20 (we broke down his style in his data biography).

His yearly median peaked at 2,967 in 2024, then went to 1,441 in 2025 and 678 so far in 2026. Content Marketing posts (843) lead SEO (697) and AI (518). A number appears in 56% of his hooks, a rate only Eric Partaker matches here.

"IKEA replaced 8,500 customer service roles with AI. And the company is now $1.4 billion richer because of it..." His most liked post of the year: 23,225 likes, 33 times his median, the widest gap in the top 20 and the second-biggest post on this page. Read it

#17 · Olawale Kolawole, 718 median likes

Olawale Kolawole works in IT service delivery and consulting, and is new in this edition. He is the only creator in the top 20 whose favorite slot falls in the evening. His Engineering posts earn a 940 median, 2.7 times his Leadership posts (344).

"The creative innovation by building a relaxation spot, chicken house and garden #construction is truly ingenious." His most liked post of the year, on a backyard build: 6,823 likes, more than 9 times his median. Read it

#16 · James Ware, 727 median likes

James Ware is a flow state performance coach, speaker and part-time DJ, and one of two top-20 creators in the efficiency cut below. His Psychology posts carry his rank (868 median, 120 of them), ahead of Leadership (754) and Wellness (641).

"In April, I had my first Hyrox race. 8 x 1km runs. 8 workout stations. Famously brutal." His most liked post of the year: 9,209 likes, nearly 13 times his median. Read it

#15 · Charlie Hills, 728 median likes

Charlie Hills teaches people to use AI, up from #18 in our previous edition (we profiled his approach in his data biography). His median has climbed every year: 285 in 2024, 689 in 2025, 729 so far in 2026.

AI is his main theme (807 median, 150 posts), ahead of Content Marketing (736).

"Claude Opus 5.5 can (finally) generate motion graphics" His most liked post of the year: 3,080 likes. Read it

#14 · Ben Francis, 730 median likes

Ben Francis is the CEO and founder of Gymshark and the seventh-biggest account in our UK data.

His three main themes, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Brand Management, land within 80 likes of each other. His yearly median went from 1,956 in 2024 to 1,189 in 2025, then 730 so far in 2026.

"14 years. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself just how much has happened in what still feels like such a short space of time." His most liked post of the year: 5,469 likes, 7.5 times his median. Read it

#13 · Tom Pestridge, 738 median likes

Tom Pestridge scales creator businesses as founder of Launchpad Creators and Goose Digital, up from #20 in our previous edition. His median rose from 455 in 2025 to 802 so far in 2026. Leadership posts earn a 1,016 median, more than twice his Content Marketing posts (433).

"A pottery teacher split his class in two. One group was graded on quantity. As many pots as possible. The other group was graded on quality. One pot. It had to be perfect." His most liked post of the year: 10,333 likes, 14 times his median. Read it

#12 · Jordan Lee, 782 median likes

Jordan Lee left a corporate job to sell AI to businesses. He is the smallest account in the top 20 and holds its highest engagement rate, though at 17k followers he falls under the 20k floor of the efficiency cut below.

Business Development is his main theme (894 median). So far in 2026, his yearly median is 77 likes, far under his 12-month figure.

"Laid off after 5 years working 80 hour weeks for a company that sees me as just another number." His most liked post of the year: 1,326 likes. Read it

#11 · Dan Mian, 790 median likes

Dan Mian is a career coach and the founder of Gradvance, which helps UK graduates land jobs. He holds the same rank as in our previous edition.

His Leadership posts earn a 1,664 median, twice his Career Development posts (829). His yearly median went from 1,917 in 2025 to 693 so far in 2026.

"The people who grow fastest. They're just more willing to learn. 'I can't' is a limiting belief." His most liked post of the year: 7,553 likes, more than 9 times his median. Read it

#10 · Jyothish Nair, 801 median likes

Jyothish Nair is a technical delivery manager at Openreach and a doctoral candidate researching AI and the future of work. He is the biggest climber of this edition, up from #19, and his engagement rate is second only to Jordan Lee's here.

His AI Ethics posts (834 median) edge out his AI posts (776). His best post earned barely more than his median, the smallest gap in the top 20: his rank rests on consistency.

"Plugging a high-performance AI system into a broken corporate workflow is like dropping a Ferrari engine into a car with flat tyres." His most liked post of the year: 1,009 likes. Read it

#9 · Katie A., 902 median likes

Katie A. is the founder and CEO of Club Peppermint, a luxury fashion start-up inspired by the 80s. She writes the longest posts we measured in the top 20.

Her yearly median went from 2,025 in 2024 to 1,792 in 2025, then 856 so far in 2026, with Entrepreneurship her strongest theme (1,038).

"6 years ago I left EVERYTHING behind 👀 My old town. My school friends. My whole community. And I packed up for London." Her most liked post of the year: 2,106 likes and 515 comments, twice her median comment count. Read it

#8 · Mati Staniszewski, 934 median likes

Mati Staniszewski is the co-founder of ElevenLabs, up from #15 in our previous edition, and he leads the efficiency cut below. His median rose from 772 in 2025 to 1,081 so far in 2026.

His AI posts earn a 1,323 median, well above his overall figure; for more names in that field, see our ranking of the top LinkedIn AI creators.

"This week, we brought all of ElevenLabs together. 800 of us, from 50 countries - and for a lot of people, the first time meeting a teammate they’ve worked with every day." His most liked post of the year: 9,840 likes, more than 10 times his median. Read it

#7 · Ken Cheng, 1,293 median likes

Ken Cheng (see the data biography) sums up his aim in his headline: to connect with you, emotionally. His trajectory is the steepest on this page: a 31 median in 2023, 430 in 2024 and 1,934 in 2025, then 1,287 so far in 2026. Management posts earn his best median (1,967).

"I turned down £50,000 on Saturday. For a bike ride with my son." His most liked post of the year: 4,394 likes. Read it

#6 · Eric Partaker, 1,483 median likes

Eric Partaker (see the data biography), a CEO coach and bestselling author whose headline lists McKinsey and Skype, is #6, down from #2 in our previous edition.

He is the sixth-biggest account in our UK data and the most prolific creator in the top 20. A number appears in 56% of his hooks, tied with Chris Donnelly for the top rate we measured here.

Management posts (1,613) edge out Leadership (1,531), which makes up more than half his output. His yearly median went from 2,943 in 2024 to 1,893 in 2025, then 1,421 so far in 2026.

"Some KPIs take years to reveal their true impact. When we talk about leaving a legacy, we often focus on the numbers. But there’s something even more enduring: How you make people feel." His most liked post of the year: 13,662 likes, 9 times his median. Read it

#5 · Lara Acosta, 1,552 median likes

Lara Acosta builds businesses online and teaches personal branding on LinkedIn (we profiled her approach in her data biography). She holds the highest median comment count in the top 20, and her Personal Branding posts earn a 2,149 median, ahead of LinkedIn (1,608) and Content Marketing (1,245).

Her median has climbed or held every year since 2022: 226, then 1,010, 1,429, 1,584 and 1,556 so far in 2026. Her best post of the year goes back to that 226-median start.

"I feel uncomfortable posting this. This is me in 2022, the year I hit rock bottom." Her most liked post of the year: 7,231 likes and 1,587 comments. Read it

#4 · Zander Whitehurst, 1,610 median likes

Zander Whitehurst is the founder and CEO of Memorisely. He writes the shortest posts we measured in the top 20, and two thirds of them are about UI (1,627 median). His yearly median dipped from 2,201 in 2024 to 1,534 in 2025, then rose to 1,652 so far in 2026.

"Design is the only profession where everyone in the company thinks they are a designer. Why? Because design is visual." His most liked post of the year: 10,586 likes, more than 6 times his median. Read it

#3 · Andy Burnham, 1,910 median likes

Andy Burnham is new in this edition. His profile lists his roles: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, leader of the Labour Party and MP for Makerfield. Our yearly data on him covers 2026 only.

His Public Policy posts earn a 1,432 median, below his overall figure, so his posts on other subjects carry his rank. He has the third-highest median comment count here.

"It’s estimated that one in five women in the UK will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime. But if you lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, there is currently no legal right to bereavement leave." His most liked post of the year: 13,992 likes, 7 times his median. Read it

#2 · Rob Dance, 2,001 median likes

Rob Dance, CEO and founder of ROCK, is #2 in this edition, down from #1 in our previous one. He holds the second-highest median comment count in the top 20 (660).

He is posting more: our dataset holds 262 of his 2026 posts against 170 for 2025, while his yearly median went from 3,197 in 2025 to 1,789 so far in 2026. Psychology (2,659) and Leadership (2,395) lead his themes.

"Rivalry can make individuals better. It can also make a business worse. Recent research on NBA players revealed something interesting. They scored around 5% more against personal rivals." His most liked post of the year: 14,653 likes, more than 7 times his median. Read it

#1 · Steven Bartlett, 3,964 median likes

Steven Bartlett (see the data biography), founder of Steven.com, the creator economy company behind FlightStory and FlightCast, tops the UK with 3,964 median likes per post, 113 times the pool median. He is new in this edition, and the second-biggest account in our UK data.

His yearly median eased from 5,217 in 2024 to 4,416 in 2025 and 3,546 so far in 2026. No one else on this page has posted a yearly figure as high as his 5,217. Leadership posts earn his best median (5,123), ahead of Psychology (3,820).

"She said yes 💍🥹 To say I was nervous is an understatement…" His most liked post of the year: 70,579 likes and 4,010 comments, the biggest post on this page by far. Read it

Where do these cards come from? We computed every figure on this page from public posts with MagicPost's LinkedIn analytics: median engagement, engagement rates, themes, trajectories and favorite slots, across 1,058 UK creators. It works on your profile too, including a side-by-side with anyone on this list.

Who are the most-followed LinkedIn creators in the UK?

Followers are what most lists rank by, so here they are: the ten biggest active accounts in our UK dataset (10+ posts in the last 12 months, one in the last 60 days). This is the top of our data, not a census of every UK profile.

Accounts with fewer than 10 posts in 12 months, or none in the last 60 days, are left out by design, so public lists of the most-followed profiles can differ.

Five of the ten make our top 20, and the two biggest accounts land far apart: Steven Bartlett, second by followers, ranks first, while James Caan, a serial entrepreneur and former Dragons' Den investor, ranks #32 with 495 median likes.

Bernard Marr, an author and futurist with 1.6 million followers, ranks #582 on 29 median likes, below the pool median.

Which LinkedIn creators in the UK have the highest engagement rate?

Raw like counts reward whoever has the biggest crowd. Engagement rate corrects for that: median likes per post divided by followers (20k followers and over). The list changes:

Mati Staniszewski (#8) and James Ware (#16) sit in both cuts. The other three are a CRM marketing executive (Inaara Touryani), a specialist in executive presence (Marta Duda) and the founder of Pip & Nut (Pip Murray).

Two smaller top-20 accounts score higher still, Jordan Lee (4.72%) and Jyothish Nair (4.52%), both under the 20k floor. The top 20 runs from Jordan Lee's 4.72% down to Chris Donnelly's 0.06%, roughly an 80-fold spread. For country benchmarks, see our LinkedIn engagement rate by country.

Which LinkedIn creator in the UK gets the most comments per post?

One last angle that rarely shows up in these lists: comments relative to likes. The record in our UK pool belongs to Ewan Mcallister, who helps B2B founders win sales through LinkedIn, at 583 median comments against 116 median likes, about five comments for every like.

Joffrey Berti (1.57 comments per like) and Cam Trew (1.12) follow, both outside the top 20. The typical top-20 creator gets one comment for every five or six likes. No feed among the 1,058 we measured talks back harder than Mcallister's (counting accounts with 100+ median likes).

Where are the UK's LinkedIn-native creators?

Notice who dominates this top 20: founders and chief executives (ROCK, ElevenLabs, Gymshark, M&S), the Prime Minister, a clinical psychologist, coaches, and the founder of a creator economy company at number one. For chief executives beyond the UK, see our ranking of the top LinkedIn CEOs.

The UK's LinkedIn-native creators (the people who teach content, personal branding and growth on the platform itself) hold their ground here: Lara Acosta at #5, Tom Pestridge at #13, Charlie Hills at #15 and Chris Donnelly at #18.

We studied several of them, one data biography at a time, in our guide to the top LinkedIn creators to study, including Lara Acosta, Charlie Hills, Chris Donnelly and Matt Barker.

To see how the UK's names compare abroad, open our worldwide ranking of the top LinkedIn creators.

One timing note. Ten of these twenty post most often between 11 AM and 2 PM London time, and only Olawale Kolawole's favorite slot falls in the evening.

Our UK timing data points earlier for ordinary accounts: 7 AM on a weekday, before the 9 AM rush, with Friday 7 AM the single best slot.

And if showing up in these creators' comment sections is part of your plan, an engagement feed keeps it to a five-minute daily habit.

How we ranked the UK's top LinkedIn creators

All of this is MagicPost's own research. We went through the last 12 months of posts from 1,058 UK creators and ranked them by median likes per post.

Only creators with at least one post in the last 60 days are ranked, a rule new in this edition. The method:

• Floors: at least 5,000 followers and 30 posts in the window; deleted posts excluded.

• Median rather than average: no single viral post can buy a place.

• Posts analyzed: the posts our dataset holds per creator, sometimes fewer than they published.

• Favorite slots: the day and hour each creator posts most often, in London time.

• Per creator: themes, yearly trajectories, writing fingerprints, engagement rates and conversation ratios.

Rankings refresh as the data does. No placement here was sponsored; every rank comes straight from the median.

Study them, then study yourself. With MagicPost you can analyze any UK creator the way we just did (median engagement, engagement rate, themes, trajectory, slots) and benchmark your own profile against the country. The data on this page is the product.