Hackney and a Liberal council causing intrigue (5)
I believe the answer is:
cabal
'intrigue' is the definition.
(I have seen 'The intrigue' mean 'cabal' so perhaps 'intrigue' could also mean 'cabal')
'hackney and a liberal' is the wordplay.
'hackney' becomes 'cab' (I've seen this before).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a liberal' becomes 'al' (I've seen this in other clues).
'cab'+'al'='CABAL'
'council causing' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cabal that I've seen before include "Group of political intriguers" , "Intriguing group" , "secret council" , "Intrigue, clique" , "Secret plot or the people engaged in it" .)