The Independent left faltering in the dock (5)
I believe the answer is:
leith
'the dock' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'the independent left faltering' is the wordplay.
'independent' becomes 'i'.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'faltering' is an anagram indicator.
'the'+'i'+'l'='theil'
'theil' is an anagram of 'LEITH'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for leith that I've seen before include "Scottish port" , "Port of Edinburgh" .)