Flexible direction keeps Liberal in charge (7)
I believe the answer is:
elastic
'flexible' is the definition.
('elastic' can be a synonym of 'flexible')
'direction keeps liberal in charge' is the wordplay.
'direction' becomes 'east' (east is a kind of direction**).
'keeps' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'in charge' becomes 'ic'.
'east' enclosing 'l' is 'elast'.
'elast'+'ic'='ELASTIC'
(Other definitions for elastic that I've seen before include "Flexible rubbery strip" , "Material for bands" , "Material that stretches" , "Ductile" , "Flexible, adaptable" .)