I've run into two kinds of leave voters:
Some actual free market capitalist (rich) ones, who think they can make money on leaving. They reacted to the fall of the pound by saying how much more their shares were worth, and they react to the potential collapse of normal cross-border manufacturing business by saying that, "in the long run" we'll end up with whatever industry our (reduced) wage rates can sustain. The optimists amongst them think of us as a potential offshore tax haven to mainland Europe, the more conservative elements have most of their money safely secured abroad and view their UK portfolios as a "bit of a flutter" on the EU collapsing under the weight of its own structural problems. I do understand these voters, just as I understand all the others motivated by self-interest.
The others seem to have a vaguer hope that wraps up all forms of immigration and border control (EU and non-EU) which they generally describe not in terms of race, but as being about things like cultural differences, language, policing, housing and even traffic issues - summarised as, "everything's changed". Free movement is seen as a negative, even when it means recruiting in shortage areas - like carehomes, hospitality, health. Everything from zero hour contracts to queues for hip operations gets blamed on "too many people". Ultimately they tell me that we can carve out our own future and that it's worth financial sacrifice to "get our country back" and "take control" - they care about sovereignty as if it's something that exists beyond economics, legal rights and indeed beyond parliament.
To me this is, of course, baffling. I benefited from, and want others to have, the opportunity of free movement. I'm from the generation that saw manufacturing move "from just in case, to just in time," and assumed minimal border controls and tariffs as an element of that, contributing both to economic growth and supply stability.
The desire to jump off the cliff and hope for a soft landing bewilders me, but I find it more disturbing that there are many who seem willing to jump off the cliff and don't care whether there's a soft landing or not. That's sad, because it does indicate how neglected and disenfranchised many people felt - but I don't think the reasons have much to do with the EU. The Brexit sales pitch worked because it was vague and optimistic, and struck an emotional chord. The remain campaign was mostly negative and dismissive about the worries and the emotions being expressed.
I honestly don't know how many Brexit voters would change their votes now faced with another referendum - certainly not as many as I'd like. The self-interested ones interests have only become stronger, they've been preparing for no-deal for a couple of years. Many of the others are feeling even more neglected and disenfranchised, except that they now more clearly see "all politicians" as an enemy as well. There's certainly a kind of battle weariness all round, but who'd stay at home and who'd come out and vote, I can't even guess. Given I went on the last People's Vote march, I can hope, but with a similar campaign to the last one, I'm not optimistic.
