Thorniewood is one of the twenty-one wards used to elect members of the North Lanarkshire Council. It elects three councillors and covers the Viewpark, Tannochside and Birkenshaw areas. A 2017 national review caused the territory to be reduced, the east boundary moving westwards from the A725 bypass resulting in the loss of the neighbourhood and the unpopulated Righead Industrial Estate; however, housebuilding elsewhere meant the decrease in the electorate was minimal. The ward had a population of 13,950 in 2019.