Fiendish Tories holding power in quick return (7)
I believe the answer is:
riposte
'return' is the definition.
('riposte' can be a synonym of 'return')
'fiendish tories holding power in quick' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'power' could be 'p' and 'p' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'tories' is 'rioste' which is within the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for riposte that I've seen before include "Fencer's counterattack" , "Poster I alter for repartee" , "Quick retort or return thrust in fencing" , "Quick and witty reply" , "Counter-thrust" .)