Former Liberal leader; bit of an author, perhaps (6)

I believe the answer is:

thorpe

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'former liberal leader bit' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'of an author perhaps' is the wordplay.
'of' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'THORPE' is hidden within 'author perhaps'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thorpe that I've seen before include "Village" , "Aussie Pools winner" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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