Observed at Ely perhaps, it has its ups and downs (6)
I believe the answer is:
seesaw
'ups and downs' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'observed at ely perhaps' is the wordplay.
'observed' becomes 'saw' (seen).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'ely perhaps' becomes 'see' (Ely is a see in the sense of a bishop's area).
'saw' put after 'see' is 'SEESAW'.
'it has its' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for seesaw that I've seen before include "Rise and fall" , "Lurch up and down" , "Plaything that's ridden up and down" , "vacillate in policy" , "Playground furniture" .)