Former Liberal, for instance (7)
I believe the answer is:
example
'for instance' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'former liberal' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'liberal' becomes 'ample' (I've seen this in another clue).
'ex'+'ample'='EXAMPLE'
(Other definitions for example that I've seen before include "Model - instance" , "Someone to emulate" , "Illustrative case" , "Something to be imitated" , "Representative object" .)