Pounded the table at the start. Coloured about politician (7)
I believe the answer is:
thumped
'pounded' is the definition.
('thump' can be a synonym of 'pound')
'table at the start coloured about politician' is the wordplay.
'at the start' says to take the initial letters.
'coloured' becomes 'hued' (similar in meaning).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'politician' becomes 'MP' (Member of Parliament).
The initial letter of 'table' is 't'.
'hued' enclosing 'mp' is 'humped'.
't'+'humped'='THUMPED'
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for thumped that I've seen before include "Hit hard with fist or heavy instrument" , "Struck hard" .)