Citizens' assemblies (CAs) and other deliberative processes have witnessed a renaissance - a 'deliberative turn' - in recent years in the UK and Ireland. Likely a response to the recent political turmoil of Brexit, the progressive surge of 2017 and generational divides, CAs are increasingly called upon to fill a democratic gap. The problem with their implementation remains the interaction with existing representative systems. Using first hand perspectives, this paper examines the advantages of initiatives in the UK and Ireland, as well as the challenges they face.