Created in 2007, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 19,350 people.

The ward has produced strong results for both the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Labour.

The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections.

Clydesdale West covers an area in the north of South Lanarkshire next to its boundary with North Lanarkshire Council and takes in a rural area surrounding the town of Carluke including the villages of Braidwood, Crossford and Law.

[2] Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward's boundaries were not changed.