@bradenslen over the years since the referendum, I think the most nuanced thoughts on this have come from Nick Clegg. In an interview he described why the British people don’t have the same level of connection with Europe as many countries in the EU have. Part of this was the fact that the country didn’t feel the step change that many other nations felt when they became European (I certainly felt it as I grew up in Greece). Obviously there is many more reasons, but that analysis of the country has stuck with me. Sure European projects have contributed to the country, but the step change wasn’t felt across.