THE arts are not just a luxury. As playwright Mike Kenny points out today, culture and the arts are essential for a healthy society. They bring us together; and they broaden our humanity and our understanding of who we are.

When York's new ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats used the term 'vanity project' to describe the city's Arts Barge, they no doubt thought that it would tap into the anger at what some people saw as the wastefulness of the last Labour administration.

The use of the term has rebounded on them, however. Now they are scrambling to say they never intended to criticise the Arts Barge itself, merely the way Labour allocated funding without asking enough questions.

That's as may be. But the Arts Barge only ever received £25,000 of council funding, with which they bought a barge they hope will one day become a floating arts centre for York. They may never take up the remaining £75,000 they were allocated, hoping instead to raise the rest of the money themselves.

The Arts Barge is an interesting project - one which, if it comes off, could bring accessible and affordable music, arts and theatre to countless local people.

That only reinforces why politicians should be careful when they start bandying around generic terms such as 'vanity projects' for political gain, without thinking through their words.