Former Tory once a prisoner? (2-3)
I believe the answer is:
ex-con
'a prisoner?' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Former prisoner' mean 'ex-con' so perhaps 'prisoner' could also mean 'ex-con')
'former tory once' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'former' could be 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime) and 'ex' is located in the answer.
'tory' could be 'con' (abbreviation for conservative) and 'con' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ex-con that I've seen before include "Former prisoner, in short" , "One who has served time" , "Former jailbird" , "having defected from Tory party?" , "She used to serve porridge" .)