Politician cut cord with mate (8)
I believe the answer is:
democrat
'politician' is the definition.
(Democrat is an example)
'cut cord with mate' is the wordplay.
'cut' indicates anagramming the letters (cut can mean mixed).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'cord' after 'mate' is 'matecord'.
'matecord' is an anagram of 'DEMOCRAT'.
(Other definitions for democrat that I've seen before include "Believer in government of, for and by the people" , "One who believes in government by the whole people" , "Member of US political party" , "American politician" , "Advocate of government by elected representatives" .)