Death
He died in January 1963, aged 56, after a sudden flare of Lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease. His death left an opening for Harold Wilson in the party leadership; Wilson won the next general election for Labour 21 months later.
The abrupt and unexpected nature of his death led to some speculation that foul play might have been involved, the most popular conspiracy theory involving a supposed KGB plot to ensure that Wilson (alleged by the supporters of these theories to be a KGB agent himself) became prime minister. This claim was given new life by Peter Wright's controversial 1987 book Spycatcher, but the only evidence that ever came to light was the testimony of Soviet defector Anatoliy Golitsyn. Golitsyn was a controversial figure who also claimed, for example, that the Sino-Soviet split was a charade intended to deceive the West. His claims about Wilson were repeatedly investigated and never substantiated.
Gaitskell is buried in the churchyard of St John-at-Hampstead Church, north London. His wife was buried alongside him following her own death 26 years later.
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—Indian proverb, quoted in Sébastien-roch Nicolas de Chamfort, Maxims and Considerations, vol. 1, no. 155 (1796, trans. 1926)