Destined to follow obscure conservative (9)
I believe the answer is:
hidebound
'conservative' is the definition.
('hidebound' can be similar in meaning to 'conservative')
'destined to follow obscure' is the wordplay.
'destined' becomes 'bound' ('bound' can be a synonym of 'destined').
'to follow' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'obscure' becomes 'hide' ('hide' can be a synonym of 'obscure').
'bound' put after 'hide' is 'HIDEBOUND'.
(Other definitions for hidebound that I've seen before include "Narrow-minded - ultra-conservative" , "very conservative" , "Restricted by conventional ideas" , "Restricted by petty rules" , "Bigoted" .)