Hit play, scorned by the left, might sustain protests? (6,3)
I believe the answer is:
strike pay
'play scorned by the left might sustain protests?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'hit' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'hit' could be 'strike' (synonyms) and 'strike' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'pay' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for strike pay that I've seen before include "it's paid to those not acting?" , "Money for those taking industrial action" .)