Thought to have a first political adviser (4)
I believe the answer is:
aide
'political adviser' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'thought to have a first' is the wordplay.
'thought' becomes 'ade' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'to have' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'a first' becomes 'i' (I in Roman numerals eg Elizabeth I).
'ade' going around 'i' is 'AIDE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aide that I've seen before include "Idea (anag)" , "Assistant to a more senior person" , "a help" , "Confidential assistant or advisor" , "Officer in attendance" .)