Report of Conservative party leader no longer thriving (8)

I believe the answer is:

blooming

'thriving' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

(Other definitions for blooming that I've seen before include "Euphemistic expletive - in flower" , "Looking healthy" , "Healthy -- flowering" , "Blossoming" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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