Long before Donald Trump became US president, he was "The Donald", a celebrity and property tycoon.

From tax to health, to immigration to foreign policy, here is where US President Donald Trump stands on key issues.

Here are the stories that have been making the political news this Friday.

• Boris Johnson and US Vice President-elect Mike Pence speak by phone about the US's "close relationship" with the UK  
• Liberal Democrat, some Labour and SDLP MPs tell the BBC they are prepared to vote against triggering Article 50
• Expelled figures linked to the former Militant wing of the Labour Party have formally applied to rejoin Labour
• A doctor has been chosen to fight the Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election for the Conservatives 
• Government funding totalling £18m is being offered to councils in England to speed up building of up to 800,000 new homes.  

Brian Wheeler

Image source, Getty Images

Bernie Sanders fans are not the only ones wondering what might have been - here are eight US election "what ifs" - some more hypothetical than others...

What if Sanders had won the Democratic nomination?

Supporters of the Vermont senator, who gave Hillary Clinton a run for her money in the primaries, could be forgiven for saying "I told you so" right now. And that is precisely what some of them have been doing.

"American voters demanded radical change and had the party elites been able to see this coming, we'd be talking about [a] Sanders victory. I have no doubt that we could've beaten Trump with Sanders," former Sanders national organizer Corbin Trent told The Daily Beast, external.

If Wikileaks had posted its revelations about Clinton earlier in the year, during the primaries, Sanders might have fared better.

It would have been a very different election campaign with Sanders as candidate. Trump would have found it more difficult to present himself as an anti-establishment outsider, when he was up against another maverick, albeit one that held elected office in Washington.

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75 people linked to party's former Militant tendency, including Dave Nellist, have applied to rejoin the Labour Party. 

And with John Bercow's praise and thanks for the day's events and the MYPs present, that's it for the Youth Parliament 2016. 

We hope you've enjoyed watching - goodbye.

Thanks are now being made by Connor Hill, MYP for Dudley. Among others, he praises the Speaker John Bercow, calling him his "inspiration".

The Speaker receives a standing ovation and appears very moved by the tributes.

Connor Hill goes on thank everyone who has been involved in the Youth Parliament session this year.

Speaker Bercow announces the results of the vote.

On the reserved issue, on which the Youth Parliament will campaign: the choice was between tackling racism, which got 117 votes; but the winner was the campaign for votes for 16 and 17-year-olds, with 159 votes.

The second campaign to be selected was a choice between a campaign to stop cuts to the NHS (30 votes); make public transport cheaper and better (32 votes) - but the winner was the campaign for a curriculum for life in schools at 213 votes.

Mr Bercow expresses his appreciation of all who have helped with the work of the UK Youth Parliament.

Valerie Vaz, the shadow leader of the House, tells MYPs says "you are showing us the way".

She says the decision to debate kinder, better democracy gave the MYPs the chance to debate the US election - something MPs had not done yet. And she says they have shown MPs the way to an inclusive society.

"You have shown commitment, discipline and strength," she says. "And even wisdom," she continues, referencing junior doctors and mothers, who were mentioned in debates.

She says she wants them to remember the fight for justice and equality.

The Speaker, John Bercow, welcomes Alistair Burt, the Conservative MP, to the chamber and explains to MYPs that when he stepped down from government recently he was given a warm send off by MPs on both sides of the House, and that was a tribute to his personality and principles.

Alistair Burt says "he's never had that before, it was rather nice".

Rob Wilson, the minister for civil society, rises to address the Youth Parliament, and congratulates MYPs on the debate.

The UK Youth Parliament is a highlight of his year, he says. "Year after year, the speeches reach new heights," he says.

He points out to them that William PItt was prime minister by the age of 24...although he died of gout at the age of 40 - not the best example of role model, he admits.

He exhorts the assembled MYPs not to let people tell them they are too young, and says there is "a place" for them there. And he says:

The Youth Parliament is now voting on which campaigns it will be adopting for the year ahead.

Speaker John Bercow is outlining to MYPs how to vote.

And with that, they begin to make their way out of the chamber. Voting will take some time - we'll let you know results when we have them.

The Youth Parliament has been having its annual sitting today in the House of Commons. Parliamentary officials kindly provided a stepladder so the moment could be recorded for posterity. Will any of those present make a return to the green benches in future years? 

Image source, PA

Jeremy Corbyn says disabled people and those on social security have been "demonised" by some politicians as he slated the government's record over help for society's least fortunate.

Mr Corbyn, at the Labour Party's launch to develop policies to fight discrimination and promote disability equality, said some disabled people had faced "horrifying" hate crime since Brexit.

The Labour leader said: 

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it would be "crazy" to impose tariffs on trade between the UK and the Czech Republic.

He said the UK is the fourth biggest export market for Skodas and Czech beer, in a joint press conference with Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek in Prague.

Prague is also the most popular destination for UK hen and stag parties, he said, joking that this alone posed a very considerable challenge to bilateral relations.

He urged a "positive frame of mind" over the EU, adding that the UK and Czech Republic can "build something of great value to both our populations".

He stressed that he valued the 40,000 Czechs among the three million European nationals living in the UK, arguing their rights should be protected and assured, assuming the rights of UK nationals in the EU are protected in the same way.

He added that incidences of xenophobia and hate crime in the UK are down below the levels they were before the referendum.

Former Coventry MP Dave Nellist is among a group of hard-left former Labour members who've applied to rejoin the party to help stop, they say, "further compromise and retreats" and to "pacify the Blairites".

Mr Nellist had previously been expelled from the party. He's now general secretary of the Socialist Party.

 A Labour spokeswoman said:

Image source, Thinkstock

The pound has continued to recover ground following this week's US election result.

The news will bring some respite to businesses that import goods, and to holidaymakers buying foreign currency.

For the first time in five weeks sterling is worth $1.26, having sunk as low as $1.21 a month ago. That is a rise of about 4%.

Against the euro, the pound has risen by more than 6% over the same period, up from €1.09 to €1.16.

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Dave Lee
North America technology reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Now the shock is beginning to subside, attention is moving to how Donald Trump's policies will play out over his four, possibly eight-year stint as president.

Barack Obama's policies on technology were considered pro-innovation, with a view to using technology expertise to improve government systems and services.

Aside from a disastrous and expensive roll-out of healthcare.gov, those efforts appear to have been well-received.

With Mr Trump, the future leaves many uncertainties. While we can draw a lot from what he has said in the past, more difficult is separating freewheeling campaigning Trump from measured, lawmaking Trump.

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Image source, PA

Former chancellor George Osborne has said Britain will have to make its relationship with US President-elect Donald Trump's administration "work", as he received a prestigious honour recognising his political and public service.

Mr Osborne, a major figure in David Cameron's government, has been made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for a national political career spanning 15 years. 

He received the award from the Duke of Cambridge during a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, where a two-minute silence was observed to mark Armistice Day.

Mr Trump, a controversial billionaire businessman, won a shock presidential election victory this week that confounded the political pundits and has led to a string of protests across America. 

The former chancellor, speaking after the ceremony, said:

The Church of Scotland has said it is "deeply concerned" that two Pakistani Christians who were invited to visit Glasgow have been refused visas.

The pair were apparently refused visas twice, because they could not prove they were wealthy enough to be allowed into the UK.

They were due to visit as part of a bid to build twinning links between the Church of Scotland's Glasgow Presbytery and the Diocese of Hyderabad in Pakistan.

The presbytery's joint clerk, Rev Graham Blount, said: "We are deeply concerned at the refusal of the UK government to grant visas to two of our invited partners.

"Despite the Church of Scotland guaranteeing their travel arrangements as well as their accommodation and subsistence while they are here, the refusal seems grounded in their personal financial circumstances." 

He said the visa refusal "threatens to frustrate" other major international events, such as the World Council of Churches General Assembly.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We do not routinely comment on individual cases."