Cliviger Parish Council consists of 9 councillors who serve a 4-year term of office, with council meetings held once a month. Cliviger is made up of five enumeration districts named Mereclough, Overtown, Walk Mill, Southward Bottom and Holme Chapel, the last being regarded as the village centre, with a primary school (St John the Divine C.E. Primary School), the church and the village hall. It is also part of the Cliviger with Worsthorne ward of Burnley Borough Council, along with the neighbouring parish of Worsthorne with Hurstwood. The ward elects three councillors, currently Cosima Towneley and Ivor Emo of the Conservatives, and Andrew Newhouse (Burnley and Padiham Independent Party). Cliviger is represented on Lancashire County Council as part of the Burnley Rural division, represented since 2017 by Cosima Towneley.