Clue: Leading members in favour of rest, we're told (8)
Answer: FOREPAWS
Explanation: Definition: Leading members
 **Homophone of**(…, we're told) [ "for"(in favour of, as opposed to "against") + "pause"(to rest/to stop an activity, perhaps to resume later on) ].
Defn: …/limbs of four-legged animals.