The election was the first one using six new wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004; each ward will elect three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system, a form of proportional representation.

On 27 November 2008 Inverclyde North Cllr Charles McCallum resigned from the Labour Party and sat as an Independent for the remainder of the term.

In February 2011, Argyll News reported that Inverclyde West Councillor George White was a former Liberal Democrat who had recently joined the Liberal Party.

[1] A by-election was held following the death of Cllr Ken Ferguson of the Scottish National Party on 26 April 2009.

The seat was held by the SNP's Innes Nelson on 18 June 2009.