FORMER lab assistant Elsa Weir, who is currently unemployed, believes the increase in personal tax allowance is just a "pre-election sweetener" which won't make that much difference to people's lives.

The former lab assistant, from Dundee, who is currently hunting for a job, said it will benefit her slightly when she does get a job but feels more should have been done to help the unemployed and people struggling on low pay.

The 30-year-old, who was made redundant from her previous post and currently helps out at her local job centre, said: "Personally I feel there wasn't a great deal for the unemployed or low paid.

"The personal allowance increase will be helpful if I manage to get a job, but there are a lot of people who don't even earn as much as the threshold so it won't benefit them

"To me it's just a pre-election sweetener that doesn't really make that much of a difference."

Miss Weir said she was pleased with the decision to scrap the increase in fuel duty planned for September, but hit out at the decision to cut duty on beer, cider and whisky, saying: "You're only saving pennies here. There are more important thing which could have been done."

She added: "Overall, I'm not terribly impressed. There are a few good things - the fuel duty, the personal allowance - but I don't really see them making that much difference to most people and there's nothing for the unemployed or low paid as far as I can see."