Remain didn't lie. But they also didn't 'tell the truth' either in the sense they only made comments about what could happen in a way that appeared totally unrealistic and over the top.
The fact that these claims appeared unbelievable to those who were Eurosceptic did nothing to endear them to voting to remain.
Remain was also up against a feeling of hopelessness. Many people who voted to leave did so with the attitude that they had nothing to loose and things couldn't get any worse than they already were anyway. It was a way to kick the current government.
What Remain should have done is been really positive about the merits of the EU and explain what the EU contributes to British society and how it is an asset.
The problem is that Cameron had spent years doing exactly the opposite and had held talks to try and get things changed because he didn't like some aspects of the EU. He had spoken about the EU in negative terms. Corbyn gets some stick for not campaigning hard enough (which with the benefit of hindsight looks all the more true) but he also carried the majority of Labour support behind the EU. Cameron didn't.
Leave however did tell outright lies. It did this to stir up feelings of hope from the problems they face. They sold an alternative explanation of why things were bad which tied in with the experience and world view. People tend not to question propaganda if it does tie in with their world view. Which is why they were not as critical of it as they should be. It doesn't matter what your educational level - its about what your world view is to begin with - everyone can be susceptible to propaganda. (You've got the reverse going on with Corbyn supporters at the moment btw - these are often much more educated people doing the same thing).
Propaganda is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a neutral thing that can be used for good or bad. Where the problem comes in, is what the intent behind it is. And whether what it says faces a point at which reality will hit.
Remain's Project Fear, is slowly but surely appear - not in such dramatic fashion as predicted but its there. Whilst the Leave campaigns lies have evaporated as the problems and practical and political implications of Brexit appear.
Do I wish the Referendum hadn't happened? Yes, but I also have a growing feeling that if it hadn't we would have had alternative political crisis around the corner that would have arisen. There were obviously some huge problems that were being ignored by all political parties and was off the radar of the media and out of the bubble of the experience of many.
The Referendum and now the result of the election have burst that.
My hope is that sanity will eventually prevail and there will be the proper debate about the EU that we needed from the beginning and there will be some addressing of some of the underlying problems behind driving forces that feed the vote.
I hope that some of the power of the right wing press over politicians will be broken and that they do more to now serve the people they represent - which includes the people who didn't vote for them.
I hope people will have a greater appreciation for the principles of democracy not just being about election day, but also about the need to have an informed debate, the need for a free and inquisitive press that includes a sense of duty to the public and I hope that it makes us appreciate our legal system and our rights better than previously. I hope it encourages more people to get involved and participate in politics and political debate and to simply vote. We have taken democracy and its values for granted and this threatens our liberal society.
Would this have been possible without the referendum?
I think its too easy to say I wish the referendum hadn't happened. What I really wish is that our politicians had served us all better full stop that goes way back before the referendum. I which that they had understood and appreciated their duty in a better way. That goes for all political parties btw not just Cameron and the Tories. There were failings elsewhere and there have been for a long time. Incompetence has not been a Conservative trait.
There are many good MPs. I just wish there were more of them.
As for leaving the EU. I still hope that we don't or that we end up with the closest, least worse option. But that's not the same as wishing we didn't have the referendum. I think perhaps we simply needed a political revolution and restoration in the true nature of democracy.
Only time will tell us which we end up with.