The former leader of Carmarthenshire County Council has spoken for the first time since he was ousted by his own party in what must go down as one of the most ill-conceived coups in political history.

Speaking candidly in an exclusive interview with the Guardian, an, at times, emotional Councillor Kevin Madge described his pride at his achievements in office and anger at the manner of his fall – and the mis-information he says has been disseminated since the Labour party voted to end his leadership by the narrowest of margins.

“I will have a big problem forgiving those behind what has happened,” said Cllr Madge. “It will take a long, long time.”

Carmarthenshire’s political landscaped with rocked on May 11 when the county council’s Labour Group, the majority party in the ruling coalition, voted to replace Cllr Madge with Llanelli councillor Jeff Edmunds.

The motion was passed by 11 votes to 10 and Cllr Madge found himself pushed to the sidelines after three years as leader of the council and seven at the head of his party.

The greatest surprise of all came the following day when the Independent Group - the minority partners in the coalition – announced they were unwilling to work with Cllr Edmunds.

Within 24 hours, the coalition agreement - which Cllr Madge had struck with Independent Group leaders in 2012 and which was scheduled to run until 2017 – was in tatters. Plaid Cymru, the party with the largest number of seats at County Hall, sprang into action, and by May 13 a new coalition – between Plaid and the Independents – was in place.

In one fell swoop, the Carmarthenshire Labour Group had dismissed its leader and handed power – which it was set to hold for two more years – to its greatest rivals and most vociferous critics.

The decision to oust Cllr Madge was political suicide for the party.

“There was no Plan B in place,” said Cllr Madge.

The anger he feels towards those who brought about his downfall – who he refers to only as “they” – is clear and the pain at the betrayal remains as raw now as it was four weeks ago.

“They obviously thought they would be able to get rid of me and continue the coalition with another leader, but that was never likely to be the case.

“It’s clear they never even considered the implications of what a change of leader would mean.

“The move to oust me completely back-fired

“The danger is that when people are in power they always want more.

“The people who have ousted me will have to answer for their actions to their own electorate.

“People who voted for them will want to know why they gave away control of the council.”

What angers him most is the claim, spread by certain members within the Labour group, that Plaid Cymru and the Independents had been holding secret talks about a coalition for three months.

“It has been repeatedly said that Plaid Cymru have been in talks the Independents since February,” said Cllr Madge. “That is simply not true.

“I have spoken with the leadership of the Independent Group and with Plaid and they completely deny it.

“I signed the coalition agreement with the Independent Group in 2012 and that document was due to run until 2017. The leaders of the Independent Group have confirmed that that was still the case.

“The record needs to be put straight – it is simply untrue to claim anything different.”

He remains deeply saddened that, despite the unprecedented financial straightjacket imposed on the council during his tenure, his efforts to improve the lives of county residents have been cut short.

“I was leader of the council for three years and on the executive board for 11,” said Cllr Madge.

“I am really proud of what we achieved during that time.

“Things have not been easy, but our administration was making a difference.

“I am proud of the achievements of the coalition agreement.”

Those include the modernisation of all local authority owned housing, a 10-year house building programme which is due to begin in September, the installation of solar panels on local authority homes, and the £20m investment in Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, along with the creation of a Towy Valley “super school” at Ffairfach.

Cllr Madge was also instrumental in taking the executive board out to the community, setting up meetings with community and town councils and visiting almost every ward in the authority.

“I visited nearly every council ward as leader and would have reached them all by the end of this summer,” he said with no small hint of regret.

“I was determined to take the council out to the communities – it was something I greatly enjoyed and of which I am proud.

While his time at the helm in County Hall was not without incident, none can doubt that Cllr Madge did what he thought was right.

“There have been difficult times in the past, particularly in relation to the controversy surrounding Mark James, the chief executive.

“It was extremely hard and it affected me personally. It affected my health.

“Most of those issues were not my doing but as the leader of the council they fell into my lap and I took the brunt of the blame.

“Mistakes were made and if I could have that time again I would do some of those things differently, but I think in most cases I made the right decision.”

Politics is all about decisions and Cllr Madge, who joined the Labour Party in 1975 and was elected councillor in 1979, cannot help but return to the one taken by his fellow Labour councillors to remove him.

“If you lose an election then so be it,” he said. “That is the nature of democracy.

“There was a vote and I lost, therefore I must accept that but sometimes there is more to it.

“I feel that after 40 years in the party I have been stabbed in the back.”

Following his inevitable resignation as council leader, he received a standing ovation from councillors at County Hall – including from many of those who had turned on him, and the tributes he has received have obviously been far beyond his expectations.

“I have been astounded,” he said.

“I have received tributes from across the political spectrum and from politicians all across the country and I have been deeply touched by the tributes paid to me by Plaid Cymru councillors who I have tussled with in the chamber for many, many years.

“I would like to pay tribute to the Independent Group members who I have worked with for 11 years and I have been deeply touched and will be forever grateful to the Amman Valley Labour councillors who have supported me.

“It has been a great honour for me to lead the Labour Party and lead Carmarthenshire County Council

“I feel I have made a difference and delivered on my promises.

“I have spent the past 11 years trying to plant seeds; seeds that might grow and improve the lives of the people in this area. I can only hope those now in power nurture those seeds and help them grow.”