After the war the co-operative movement declined and so did the influence of the Party. By 1983 only eight Labour Co-op MPs were elected. However, in 1997, all 23 candidates won seats in Parliament and, in 2001, only one was defeated, Faye Tinnion who had stood against the Leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague. Gordon Brown is very interested in the co-operative principles of self-help, and this support allowed the co-operative movement to make representations, and sponsor important bills on updating company law, employee share ownership and micro-generation of energy.