Loved to bother socialist (6)
I believe the answer is:
adored
'loved' is the definition.
(adoring is a kind of loving)
'bother socialist' is the wordplay.
'bother' becomes 'ado' (both can mean fuss or commotion).
'socialist' becomes 'red' (red can informally mean a socialist).
'ado'+'red'='ADORED'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for adored that I've seen before include "Loved intensely" , "Loved dearly" , "Doted on" , "Idolised" , "having lover" .)