Manchester Central where Tories are holding its conference was refurbished using EU money

Preparations underway ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester at Manchester Central. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

The complex that the Tories are holding their annual conference in proudly advertises the fact it has been part-funded by the European Union.

The Manchester Central complex was part-funded by the EU. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant

Despite the message from this year’s Conservative conference being to “get Brexit done”, the venue they have chosen proudly declares it has been “part-funded” by the European Union’s regional development fund.

Manchester Central, which is currently packed out by Conservative activists, has been an iconic part of the city’s skyline for more than a hundred years.

In 2008 it saw a £30 million redevelopment begin to bring state-of-the-art facilities to the complex – which now reportedly brings £150m a year to the local economy.

According to research during 2007 and 2013 Manchester overall received £136.2 million from the European Structural Funds programme which aimed to boost regional development, investment in businesses, job opportunities, improved prospects for young people through apprenticeships and higher education, as well as supporting agriculture.

Prime minister Boris Johnson arrives at the Conservative Party Conference at Manchester Central. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire. – Credit: PA

The signs outside the Tory party conference pointing out the funding it had received from the European Union did not go unnoticed with several journalists taking to Twitter to point out the irony.

“Who said irony is dead in British politics?” wrote one.

“Is it ignorance? Is it hypocrisy?” asked another.