Make little of being subject to body politic (10)
I believe the answer is:
understate
'make little of' is the definition.
(understatement means making little of something)
'subject to body politic' is the wordplay.
'subject to' becomes 'under' (being subject to a law is being under it).
'body politic' becomes 'state' (synonyms).
'under'+'state'='UNDERSTATE'
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for understate that I've seen before include "Represent as less important" , "Minimise the significance of (something)" , "Downplay" , "Play down" , "Speak with restraint" .)