Is there also some feeling that 'work' has to be manual, not mental, to count as 'proletarian', or is this a red herring?

Way back in the discussion I asked, the first time Laycock came round, "when does someone stop being one of the 'folk'". Being paid for mental work may be crossing the threshold for some people. Where does management fit in? A 'ganger' might be OK if still getting his hands dirty, but an 'overlooker' may be debatable.

The recent phase of the discussion would seem to allow starting off working with one's hands in a low-paid job as being enough. However, and a reason why I have been probing the point, if Laycock is 'allowed in' a lot of other people would be.