Grouse distractedly about Conservative whip (7)
I believe the answer is:
scourge
'whip' is the definition.
(I know that scourge is a more specific form of the action the whip)
'grouse distractedly about conservative' is the wordplay.
'distractedly' is an anagram indicator.
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'conservative' becomes 'C' (UK political abbreviation).
'grouse' anagrammed gives 'sourge'.
'sourge' placed around 'c' is 'SCOURGE'.
(Other definitions for scourge that I've seen before include "torment" , "menace" , "Harass" , "One providing lashings" , "Whip used to inflict punishment" .)