Although I understand what you're getting at and agree with certain parts . The trouble is that there's one fateful flaw in all this.
The blame for their problems had been shifted by the government onto the EU, as has been the case for donkeys years.
I agree with this, but it cuts across party lines, all UK Governments of whatever persuasion, when it suited their purpose blamed Brussels and were aided and abetted by certain media groups. It still doesn't relieve the remain campaigners from not recognising the aspiration of people in run down areas, whose admittedly limited aspiration was, a job, a home, some possible glimmer of a future where things got better
where they lived, in their town, who didn't want to move, who didn't want/ could not go to University, or travel the world, because they had commitments to their families; people who on the whole would be happy to remain (excuse the pun) where they were, and in many ways represented the traditional working class values.
Labour remainers in particular, lost their 'working class values' and swung more left wing, becoming seen in the 'red wall' areas, in particular as being intellectual and an Islington based party etc. of course they paid at the GE, the phrase at
least you know where you are with the Tories was heard quite often in Working men's clubs.
My whole point was there was a 'constituency' among those leaning towards Brexit, who just wanted reassurance from the remain camp that was that 'things would get better' and it would IMO have swung the vote, but they never got it. It was not a question of lying to people it was of giving them hope, but it never came!
The problem was that most of the people campaigning to remain weren't in government. So they couldn't promise that things would get better by staying in the EU, because that would be transparently misleading.
I think there were around 30 prominent Remainers in the Tory party ranks, 'Grandees' such as Heseltine and Clarke and Cabinet members in particular the Chancellor and the Official Solicitor etc. It was not a matter of promising, after all most people view politicians promises as being like 'pie-crust', it was simple of providing a dream/ideal for those with simple working class, albeit in many ways limited aspiration. Of course you could perhaps forgive Tory's for not understanding such views, it not their natural habitat; but Labour failed these people miserably and have paid the price.