Determined to restrain Conservative playing fast and loose (12)

I believe the answer is:

inconsistent

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'loose' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'determined to restrain conservative playing fast' is the wordplay.
'determined' becomes 'insistent' (insistent can mean determined or tenacious).
'to restrain' is an insertion indicator.
'conservative' becomes 'C' (UK political abbreviation).
'playing fast' becomes 'on' (I am not sure about the 'fast' bit.).
'c'+'on'='con'
'insistent' enclosing 'con' is 'INCONSISTENT'.

'and' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for inconsistent that I've seen before include "Discordant" , "Not staying the same" , "Lacking regularity" , "Self-contradictory" , "Not always the same" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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