Bertrand (and other Remainers?) -
It's complicated. I think it's a question of values and priorities and the reason there's such a big emotive division is because people are making decisions based on very different value-sets - which means that voters on either side explaining their reasoning isn't likely to sway the 'opposition.' I'll try to explain my reasons, with the caveat that this thread isn't really the place for a lengthy debate on it, and I'm very aware that I'm in the minority on this site.
Essentially, I voted based on principles of national sovereignty: that our country should be able to make its own laws and decisions based on what is in our best interests, not the interest of Europe. They aren't always the same thing, as the situation in Greece illustrates, and even though there are veto systems in place, the EU is able to force things through regardless (Lisbon treaty being a case in point.) Juncker and the 'ever-closer union' are, frankly, alarming. I don't want a United States of Europe, and while that isn't the case now, a Remain vote is a vote not just for the current EU but for the future of the EU, whatever direction it might take. I believe that European countries are too diverse socially, economically and culturally for one-size-fits-all policy to fit any of them.
I don't agree with David Cameron (or Theresa May) on very many issues, but it was the very disappointing result of Cameron's talks with the EU which sealed my 'Leave' vote. I believe we ought to be able to determine our own policy. I didn't vote Tory, but I recognise that the majority did, and also that if they steer the country in a direction we don't agree with, we have the opportunity to vote them out and elect a party who will act more closely in accord with the wishes of the electorate (I'm not an idealist, they all lie and spin things, but at least we have a chance, unlike with the EU and 'we have to have VAT on tampons because they say so' and so on.)
I don't believe that leaving the EU will lead to a collapse of environmental protections, workers' rights, and so on, because any party that did these things would find itself out of power very quickly. The Tories have proven themselves very good at demonising the unemployed and the very poorest, but dismantling our essential rights would be much harder to craft a discourse around because it affects so many more people.
I think the pound will recover, given time. I think that Britain can arrange trade deals with both European and non-European countries that will be to our advantage, and it's my opinion that the post-referendum dip was in part the fault of the immediate media scaremongering after the result. I was very impressed with Mark Carney, to be fair, but almost everyone else I heard speak on the morning of the result was predicting doom, whereas if the messages had been more positive, the short-term economic consequences wouldn't have been so dire. Of course that's impossible to prove/disprove, but it's how it seems to me.
I believe that controlling immigration (deciding the numbers, not 'banning foreigners' or sending people already here home, or anything like that) will lead to a decrease in unemployment rates and will better the life chances of working-class people, especially the low-skilled. These people are pretty much written off by society at present and it doesn't have to be that way.
From personal experience, I have relatives who have worked in the building and associated trades for decades. They're highly skilled, and now finding it difficult to find work because they are being seriously undercut by European workers. I don't blame the European workers! They are doing what's best for them and their families, the same as anyone would - rather, I blame the system which means that an unlimited number of people can move here, regardless of if their skills are in short supply or not. I'm not 'anti-immigration,' I just think we need to be sensible about it. We're a small country.
I voted Leave, really, because I'm hopeful that the future, in the long term, can be better than the present, and that we should have the power to shape the future of our country. I'm against unelected European bureaucrats and one-size-fits-all policy (I'm also very sceptical about the House of Lords and the monarchy and think we should have PR instead of FPTP, but the referendum wasn't on those issues!)
That got a bit lengthy. Again, I realise most of you will disagree with me, and I'm not a politician or professional writer or anything so some of it might not be worded very well, but it's one rationale for 'why I don't regret my Leave vote' at least. I can understand (and sympathise) if you consider other factors more important to you than the ones I based my vote on, and wanted to Remain for those reasons, especially if you're personally affected. If you want to think I'm 'stupid' or similar, that's your prerogative, but ad hominem attacks don't really help either side.