Tony Blair may not be the most obvious candidate for inclusion in Gay Times’s list of the top gay icons of the last 30 years. You might more readily associate the term gay icon with camp celebrities and fashionistas. But what does the phrase really mean?

To be a gay icon, firstly, do you have to be gay? Well, no. Our list includes Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Annie Lennox, all of whom are worthy of the accolade. They are individuals who have contributed a great deal in the fight for gay rights. Whether that be visibility, championing equality or defending the dignity of those with HIV and Aids.

The title isn’t bestowed on someone simply for being camp or fabulous, but rather for using their time and work to pursue gay rights. That’s the real definition of an icon.

Tony Blair’s time in government tells exactly that story: from repealing section 28 to improving rights for trans people, through to the landmark introduction of civil partnerships - a law that was passed 10 years ago this October.

You could be forgiven for forgetting all of this. For LGBT people of my generation, it’s easy to let the extent of these struggles be forgotten. The recent film Pride told the tale, with huge candour, of the hard times so many gay people faced in the 1980s and before. Gay Times has documented those struggles through its three decades in print.

Years ago, our MediaWatch column looked at the prejudiced, bigoted headlines that back then were deemed entirely acceptable. Justin Fashanu, whose only gay-press interview we have reprinted as part of our icons issues, faced extraordinary homophobia in the 1990s.

If we define a gay icon as somebody who stood up to that, somebody who said tolerance not bigotry was the answer, and somebody who made that change happen, then Blair fits the bill.

A generation had endured not progress on these issues but backsliding. When Blair was first elected as an MP, in 1983, 50% of Britons considered homosexuality to never be normal. That rose to 64% in 1987, the year before Thatcher introduced section 28. “It was an aggressive and nasty approach,” Blair told me when I interviewed him last week. “Section 28 … created a very ugly atmosphere in society. But thankfully those times are gone.” And, largely, they are, in Britain.

The legislation of Blair’s government undeniably brought about a change in atmosphere. I know that as a teenager during Blair’s premiership, seeing the most powerful person in the country appear on television saying there was nothing wrong with being gay was hugely inspiring. It was a message that resonated with the country. That’s partly why now the number of people who consider being gay abnormal is at an all-time low of 22%.

But, truthfully, this isn’t just about Blair – as good a headline as it makes. This is about the many people who have changed the way our country thinks about these issues. Society used to say to gay men and women: “What’s wrong with you?” Now the question is reversed: “What’s wrong with you?” we ask the shrinking minority that still has a problem.

That’s a huge step forward. And in recognising the generation of leaders, celebrities and ordinary, determined people, we should have no hesitance in applauding their bravery on its own merit.

To Blair and the others who have made our list, thank you for playing your part in changing hearts and minds. For that, you are true gay icons.