In the UK "Cleared To Land" will only be given when you actually ARE clear to land; which in my mind means that you are absolutely the only aircraft that IS clear to land ie no other aircraft will be clear to land if another aircraft is on the runway or has already been cleared to land or take off ahead of you.
The US practice is, in my mind, potentially dangerous as I struggle to see how an aircraft can be cleared to do anything when it is patently NOT clear to do any such thing !