A small remark on small-dimensional normed barrelled spaces

Combining the methods of Brian and Stuart with the classical Dvoretzky theorem, we show that no infinite-dimensional Banach space contains a barrelled subspace of (algebraic) dimension $<\mbox{cov}(\mathcal{N})$, the covering number of the Lebesgue null ideal $\mathcal{N}$. Consequently, every infinite-dimensional normed barrelled space has dimension $\ge\mbox{cov}(\mathcal{N})$ and so it is consistent with \textsf{ZFC} that no normed barrelled space has dimension equal to the bounding number $\mathfrak{b}$.