Political parties need to have their own private communications in order to function; it&#x27;s impossible to do strategy if you can&#x27;t conceal your hand even slightly.<p>Treatment of constituents issues needs to be private as these are often sensitive and personal (housing, family law and benefits issues).<p><i>Official</i> business should be on the record. In part the Alistair Carmichael trial is about the boundary between political and official.