Take the lead on social security, as papers do first (2,2,5)
I believe the answer is:
go to press
'take' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'lead on social security as papers do first' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'lead' could be 'go' (synonyms) and 'go' is found within the answer.
'on' could be 're' ('on' can be mean 'with reference to') and 're' is located in the answer.
'first' could be 'tops' (tops can mean the best) and 'tops' is located in the remaining letters.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for go to press that I've seen before include "Of newspapers etc, commence printing" , "Start making an impression" , "Start publishing" .)