Suggests Independent politician is economical with the truth! (7)
I believe the answer is:
implies
'suggests' is the definition.
(implying is a kind of suggesting)
'independent politician is economical with the truth' is the wordplay.
'independent' becomes 'i'.
'politician' becomes 'mp' (Member of Parliament).
'is economical with the truth' becomes 'lies' (to be economical with the truth is to lie).
'i'+'mp'+'lies'='IMPLIES'
(Other definitions for implies that I've seen before include "Insinuates" , "States indirectly" , "Suggests or hints at meaning" .)