The economy has taken centre stage in the Holyrood election campaign as the parties zeroed in on jobs, business and investment. SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon promised a "a relentless focus" on job creation and improving the economy if her party is re-elected in May, adding that the other parties "have been unable to string a coherent economic plan together." She said the SNP's plan would see more help for businesses to expand, a new annual innovation prize, improved support for young entrepreneurs and apprentices and a renewed push for inward investment. The First Minister was speaking at Ferguson's shipyard in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, which was rescued from closure by the Scottish Government in 2014 after it went into administration. Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative finance spokesman, said in response: "This announcement by the SNP is well overdue because for months the party has been running Scotland's economy into the ground while they focus on their main obsession of independence. "Scotland is now lagging behind the rest of the UK and we need drastic action. Under the SNP business rates went up by 42% in nine years. We would freeze rates to help business and invest in skills by reversing college cuts." Scottish Labour's opportunity spokesperson Iain Gray said: "The single most important economic investment any government can make is in education. We need to give our workforce the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future, but since coming to power the SNP have cut the budget for education and training by 10%." He added: "Independent research from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre suggests that Scotland could see a near £2bn boost to GDP under Labour's plan to invest and protect the education budget." Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said that state support to corporations who avoid tax or refuse to pay their staff a living wage should be halted, adding: "Tax avoidance rules and paying workers fairly should apply to both the Davids and the Goliaths of the business world." Speaking outside the Amazon plant in Dunfermline, he also said the online retail giant and companies like it were "being rewarded for failing to pay their workers properly and for only paying measly levels of tax." Co-convener of the Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie said his party planned to create 200,000 new jobs in sustainable industries, and claimed their "bold and progressive" proposals to slash income tax for low earners would boost revenues. He added: "All the other parties are wedded to an economic model that is failing to give workers job security today, so the need for more Green voices in a bolder Holyrood is clear."