Demote English envoy after resistance (8)
I believe the answer is:
relegate
'demote' is the definition.
(I know that demote can be written as relegate)
'english envoy after resistance' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'envoy' becomes 'legate' (legate is a kind of envoy).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'resistance' becomes 'r' (electronics abbreviation).
'e'+'legate'='elegate'
'elegate' put after 'r' is 'RELEGATE'.
(Other definitions for relegate that I've seen before include "Transfer to a lower division" , "Send down" , "Move to a lower position" , "Assign to a lower position" , "Consign to less important place - maybe a soccer team" .)