For all its shortcomings, Lady Hodge concluded that the Arts Council “remains a vital national body”. It is even more important in times of austerity: without public funding, many institutions would not survive. With a new chair – and a new prime minister – this is a moment of hope for a weary creative sector. A petition by Campaign for the Arts urges Andy Burnham to follow the example of Clement Attlee’s Labour government, which established the Arts Council “from the rubble of the second world war”, to make “arts and culture an integral part of their plan to rebuild the nation”. There is much to be done before the Arts Council celebrates its 100th birthday. Without Keynes’s “half baked” scheme, England would be much poorer, in every sense.