This statue might be the best thing he's ever done. I love it.

Despite the denials, the answer is most likely this was all coordinated with LEAs.

  Some artists have questioned if Banksy, once considered anti-establishment, now enjoys special treatment from Britain's powers that be.

  In 2014, Vice Media asked: 'Why Is Banksy the Only Person Allowed to Vandalize Britain’s Walls?' The story quoted David Speed, a street artist who ran a British graffiti collective. "It's very much one rule for him and another rule for everyone else ... When street artists do it, it's vandalism. When Banksy does it, it's an art piece."

  Contacted by Reuters, Speed praised Banksy as "a really important artist of modern times." Yet he still wonders why "one artist should be able to have carte blanche and everyone else would be subject to penalties."

In Search of Banksy, https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-a... (2026).

England has a long history producing artwork against some institution, only for that institution to get worse over time. George Orwell wrote about the dangers of authoritarianism and surveillance, and since then the UK government has only ratcheted up their surveillance and authority. They also made a movie called This is England which straightforwardly depicts young English nationalists ruining their lives with nationalism, and 20 years later there are more nationalists in England than at any point after WW2.

Will Banksy's legacy be more or less the same?

Unfortunately the article doesn't tell us much. I'd have hoped for some footage beyond what was released by the artist.

The idea that Banksy's identity is unknown is a complete myth perpuated by the popular press.

The guy is well known and very much part of the establishment.

I doubt Banksy is a single person fwiw.

I wish Banksy put the statue a block away at the roundabout at the end of Pall Mall instead. The current spot he picked already has several other statues there. The roundabout at the end of Pall Mall is empty, presently rather dull, and would look much nicer with a statue.

This is the better spot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6EmX2jPiaKRNtNtr8 51°30'19.0"N 0°08'16.0"W

I have a hardhat, high viz vest, lanyard, and $600 toolbelt because I'm an industrial electrician, but they get me into a lot. My face becomes invisible; I become "The Electrician".