Crossword Genius

Kind of lease broken by a Conservative (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

character

'kind' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'lease broken by a conservative' is the wordplay.
'lease' becomes 'charter' (synonyms).
'broken by' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters break into the word).
'conservative' becomes 'C' (UK political abbreviation).
'a'+'c'='ac'
'charter' going around 'ac' is 'CHARACTER'.

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for character that I've seen before include "Person in a novel or play" , "Nature; good reputation" , "Quality" , "strength of mind" , "Type - letter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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