Sacked party leader, sick and advanced in years (8)

I believe the answer is:

pillaged

'sacked' is the definition.
('pillaged' can be a synonym of 'sacked')

'party leader sick and advanced in years' is the wordplay.
'party leader' becomes 'p' (I've seen this in other clues).
'sick' becomes 'ill' ('ill' can be a synonym of 'sick').
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'advanced in years' becomes 'aged' (I've seen this before).
'p'+'ill'+'aged'='PILLAGED'

(Another definition for pillaged that I've seen is " Sacked".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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