It elects one member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting.

[1] Covering the southern portion of the Renfrewshire council area, the constituency includes around half of Paisley, as well as the smaller town of Johnstone and the villages of Kilbarchan and Elderslie.

The reminder of the seat is more rural, containing the villages of Lochwinnoch, Howwood, several hamlets and farmland.

[3] The constituency's first MP was Douglas Alexander, who had held the seat since its creation in 2005 and its predecessor Paisley South since 1997.

When SNP candidate Mhairi Black gained the seat in May 2015, she was 20 years and 237 days old, making her the youngest Member of Parliament (MP) elected to the House of Commons since at least the Reform Act 1832, replacing William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam; who was 20 years and 11 months old when elected in 1832.